In an interview with Kurir.mk, the additional deputy minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management Cvetan Tripunovski, reveals a scandal in which large sums intended for subsidies for farmers were not paid at all by the current government.
“When I talk about the disappointment of farmers from this Government and the ministry, I want to share one piece of data and support this disappointment that they have. In the program for financial support for the year 2024, in measure 11, overdue obligations according to measures from programs from previous years, there is a striking figure of MKD 3,400,000,000, that is somewhere over 50 million euros of overdue subsidies from previous years, from 2020 until 2023,” said Tripunovski.
The deputy minister reveals that if in 2016 and 2017 there were over 95,000 farmers who applied for the supports that the Ministry of Agriculture had at that time, in 2023, in the same applications for measures and programs, somewhere around 65,000 farmers applied, which is a serious reduction in the number of farmers engaged in agriculture. That means about 30,000 farmers less.
