Minister of Agriculture, Marian Jurečka, announced on Friday that the Czech Republic would support national fruit, vegetable and potato producers. A quarter of a billion crowns will be invested in order for the country to go back to being self-sufficient in traditional fruit and vegetable production.
At the opening of the « Jardin de Bohême » exhibition in Litoměřice, the Minister of Agriculte declared that “before 1990, fruit and vegetable production was of a very good quality. We were self-sufficient in these areas. I would like us to return to this level of quality.”
In 2015 fruit producers should benefit from a 100 million crown aid, vegetable producers too, whilst potato producers will receive 50 million crowns. This is a first for potato producers as until now only producers of starch potatoes could receive this aid.
Producers will also be able to benefit from the Rural Development Programme, an investment support that concerns, for example, construction and reconstruction of greenhouses and plastic greenhouses, buying modern technology and building warehouses.
Whilst self-sufficiency in major products from animals increased last year, that of fresh fruit and potatoes had considerably decreased. Almost 30% of potatoes consumed were imported. Almost a quarter of total consumed fruit was imported. As for vegetables, production self-sufficiency plummeted below 40%.