Podgorica, (MINA-BUSINESS) – The Government has proposed amendments to the Law on Agriculture and Rural Development, aiming to improve the implementation of support in this sector in the coming period.

“The main reasons for adopting the amendments are of a legal and technical nature, intended to improve the execution of planned activities in agriculture and rural development, align with existing legislation, establish a new system for implementing Technical Assistance measures, gather information obtained through agricultural policy measures, enhance the system of collecting accounting data from agricultural holdings, and enable more efficient monitoring of the agricultural products market,” the Government stated in a press release.

The proposed amendments specify that responsibilities related to programme preparation, monitoring, promotion, and coordination, as well as managing support funds through the Technical Assistance measure, in line with EU requirements, will be carried out by the Ministry’s organizational unit for managing the IPARD programme, namely the Directorate for Rural Development, which has not been the case until now.

The changes also more clearly define terms in this sector, and include detailed provisions regarding the FADN system, directly linked to Montenegro’s obligation to continuously align and establish support and payment systems under the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy for the 2023–2027 period.

“The adoption of this law stems from the need to more effectively implement support measures in agriculture and rural development. Since Montenegro is in the process of EU accession and is working to harmonize its legislation with that of the Union, this law marks a step toward alignment with the EU's Common Agricultural Policy and a significant step toward closing negotiation Chapter 11,” the press release concludes.