Skopje, 5 March 2025 (MIA) - Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, and Water Economy, Cvetan Tripunovski, stated that during this week's two-day Macedonian-Hungarian government summit in Budapest, he had a very important and productive meeting with his counterpart, the Hungarian Minister of Agriculture, István Nagy. During the meeting, they agreed on renewing and expanding cooperation, including in the field of science.

"We talked about the challenges we face as agriculture ministers, with a particular focus on climate change. The most important outcome of our discussion is the agreement to deepen cooperation between our ministries and renew the Memorandum of Cooperation. This will outline shared priorities and expand into the field of science," Minister Tripunovski said on Sitel TV.

He announced that everything will be concluded during Minister Nagy’s official visit in May.

"This cooperation will enable the promotion and distribution of Macedonian products in the Hungarian market. We are on the right track to demonstrate that strong cooperation and effective communication can drive major advancements in agriculture," Tripunovski said.

When asked whether the country has a strategy for the development of agriculture that would prevent food dependency, he said that the ministry currently has a medium-term strategy, which is under analysis. A review of the results from this strategy is being conducted, and, according to him, the results are disappointing.

"The subsidies introduced in 2007, in recent years, have not yielded the desired results due to delayed implementation and payments, resulting from poorly designed measures. This has led to a strategy with little or no positive impact, causing a negative trend in agricultural production. Therefore, as a Ministry, we are working on an analysis and developing a new strategy that will ensure predictability for agricultural production. Rebuilding trust with farmers will result in a higher number of farmers and greater output, while investments in irrigation will guarantee reliable sales and production volumes, ultimately benefiting family budgets," Tripunovski said.

Currently, he mentioned, the government and the Ministry are focused on halting the negative trend in production and increasing it for key crops, livestock, and horticultural and field crops. After that, the plan is to focus on reviving the less cultivated crops in Macedonia, such as sunflower, oilseed rape, opium poppy, and cotton.

Photo: Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Water Economy