Ljubljana - The government will allocate an additional EUR 210 million to agriculture between 2023-2027, on top of the EUR 100 million promised in the summer. That was agreed at Wednesday's meeting of agricultural organisations, PM Janez Janša and Agriculture Minister Jože Podgoršek, who expressed satisfaction with the agreement.

Representatives of Slovenian agricultural organisations have repeatedly stressed the urgent need to allocate more resources to rural development programmes in the draft strategic plan for the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) 2023-2027.

That was also the reason why the Slovenian Chamber of Agriculture and Forestry (KGZS) did not approve of the first CAP draft strategic plan presented last week by the Agriculture Ministry.

But progress was achieved at the meeting on Wednesday, which was attended by representatives of the KGZS, agricultural NGOs, the Chamber of Agricultural and Food Enterprises, Prime Minister Janez Janša and Agriculture Minister Jože Podgoršek.

"Today's meeting was a long-awaited and financially important conclusion to the process of preparing the CAP strategic plan," minister Podgoršek told STA after the meeting.

"I am extremely pleased to have understood the importance of agriculture as a strategic sector in Slovenia, which is why the government is allocating additional funding to this sector to the tune of EUR 310 million," he added.

The additional funds will address some of the key needs within the agricultural sector, including the restructuring processes related to animal welfare, adaptation to climate change, modernisation of the agri-food sector.

Podgoršek believes that the funds will enable a better financial balance, while the KGZS also deemed the meeting successful and expressed satisfaction with the additional funds allocated to agriculture.

"The government has listened to the farmers' representatives. This will be the first time since Slovenia's EU accession that more money will be provided for agriculture than is required by EU rules," the KGZS said.

According to the KGZS, the additional funds will ensure more investment for the preservation and development of family farms and the production of quality Slovenian food.

The funds will also allow Slovenian agriculture to adapt to increasingly challenging market conditions, to preserve rural areas and limit their depopulation, they added.

"The CAP Strategic Plan for the period 2023-2027 represents the last opportunity to preserve Slovenian agriculture and thus ensure adequate food security in this country," said Roman Žveglič, the president of KGZS.

Slovenia must submit its CAP Strategic Plan 2023-2027 to the European Commission by the end of this year. Negotiations with the Commission will then take place, with the plan expected to be operational by 2023.

A total of EUR 1.2 billion is available from the EU's long-term budget for the five-year period. Together with the amount agreed on today, Slovenia will now also add just over EUR 540 million from its national budget.