At its first post-holiday meeting on Wednesday (19 August), the cabinet will be briefed on the pressing issues facing the Slovak agricultural sector, such as the drought and low milk prices, Agriculture and Rural Development Minister Richard Takáč (Smer-SD) announced on Tuesday.
Takáč also announced that Klaudia Halaszova will be the new chair of the advisory board and that Slovak Agriculture and Food Chamber (SPPK) vice-chairman Emil Macho will be the deputy head of the board.
"Today's joint meeting focused on serious issues affecting the agricultural sector. One of the issues that we discussed was the persistent drought in Slovakia, which is damaging the agricultural sector," he stated.
As regards crops such as wheat, barley and oil-seed rape, he said that the harvest in Slovakia is currently at the five-year average. "We cannot say that the situation is entirely catastrophic. The biggest problem is with fodder crops, particularly maize for silage. This is causing problems for farmers involved in livestock production," he emphasised.
According to Takáč, restrictions on the export of animal feed could come into conflict with European legislation. "My colleagues in the sector assure me that we'll be able to obtain feed for farm animals. My task will be to discuss the matter with both the Premier [Robert Fico] and the Finance Minister [Ladislav Kamenicky (both Smer-SD)], and to seek funding to compensate farmers," he stated.
Takáč repeatedly rejected the much-discussed issue of the privatisation of the Slovak irrigation system. "No one here is going to hand over [state-owned firm] Hydromelioracie into private hands. In fact, ever since I took up office, I've been saying: no privatisation; this will remain in state hands," he stressed.
Source: TASR
