Due to a severe drought, farmers in Serbia are urgently demanding financial aid from the government and have warned that they will organize new protests by the end of August if their demands are not met.
Goran Filipović, president of the Initiative for the Survival of Serbian Farmers, told Beta that talks are ongoing to organize the protests. Farmers had expected assistance of 300 euros per hectare because of the unprecedented drought, but the Ministry of Agriculture has yet to announce any support.
Filipović explained that high temperatures and lack of moisture have devastated most crops except wheat, which yielded but suffers from low prices. Corn crops have been destroyed, and some fields are now being plowed empty. Early sunflower harvests indicate yields will be only a quarter of the expected amount—about 500 kilograms per hectare instead of two tons—and soybean yields are even lower, around 200–300 kilograms compared to an expected two tons.
Clover, an essential feed for livestock, has also been severely affected.
The farmers’ main demand is financial aid of 300 euros per hectare, matching what Romania provided its farmers last year. Filipović warned that without this support, farmers face defaults on loans or the need for new cheap loans, which can only be secured with the government’s intervention.
He added that the government seems indifferent to the drought’s severity, though satellite images from the Biosens Institute clearly show the poor condition of the fields.
New farmer associations are forming to unify efforts and demands for financial aid alongside existing groups.
Đoka Ćurčić, member of the Initiative’s Steering Committee, criticized the government for ignoring agricultural producers’ requests and reducing subsidies for seeds. Some farmers have received significantly less subsidy money than expected, with no explanation provided.
Vojislav Malbaški, president of the Farmers’ Union of Banat, said their association is ready to join protests once the date is set.
Predrag Veljković, president of the Association of Milk Producers of Šumadija and Pomoravlja, confirmed farmers from his region will also participate in the protests with additional demands. Besides drought, water shortages are critical, forcing them to transport water by tanker for livestock. Milk buyers have neither lowered nor raised prices despite production challenges caused by feed shortages.
Veljković also highlighted unresolved land ownership issues that prevent subsidies from reaching actual farmers cultivating leased land, instead benefiting so-called owners.
Despite a promise by Agriculture Minister Dragan Glamočić for inspections into milk stocks at dairies over a month ago, no findings have been reported so far.
