In the News of November 11 this year, the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management in the Government of Montenegro announced the construction of five agricultural houses - in Bar, Podgorica, Nikšić, Pljevlja and Berane, on which he stated:Lack of people and space". Mr. Minister, if agricultural houses were the main problem of this economic branch in Montenegro, it would long ago have been in the green branch, and not in the penultimate or last place in the ranking of agriculturally developed countries in Europe?!
From an economic development point of view, Montenegro does need the House of Agriculture, but the five of them are not a priority, as you recently stated. Because the Montenegrin agrarian system has been burdened with numerous systemic problems for decades, such as: demographic collapse, inadequate organization and management of agricultural production, lack of development infrastructure, lack of land policy and others, whereby the construction of five houses of agriculture would create a mastadon on the legs of a cat!
Before you, Mr. Minister, is a difficult conceptual question - do you want expert management of the economic branch that you stand at the head of or a bulky structure of employees with general knowledge from whom you cannot expect European progress?
As a reminder, the proposal for the construction of the House of Agriculture in Montenegro dates back to 1992, when the Parliament of Montenegro adopted a project called "Strategy for the development of agriculture and rural economy in Montenegro on market basis", so called Green strategy. About what the later tragedy of the mentioned strategic document was, newspaper space does not allow a longer story. However, perhaps in important indications it should be recalled that the current model of centralist management of the agrarian economy in Montenegro, inaugurated back in 1994, is completely inconsistent both from the aspect of expert management in the agrarian economy, and from the aspect of production and economic goals that are the western economy. in agriculture rose to a fascinating level of development.
My story about this problem is not aimed at promoting the value of the long-adopted and yellowed strategic project from long ago in 1992, but its goal is to remind the fact that with what misery the project was allowed to Green strategies live in practice, today other birds would sing to us, both on our own doorstep and on the European road.
I remember well (as a member of the expert team that worked on the preparation Green strategies 1991/1992), the House of Agriculture figured as a unique business center that was to be staffed by experts from the following institutions: institution of management of the Montenegrin agrarian system (ministry); institutions of a scientific and educational character (field of biotechnology); institution of research, design and realization of investment projects (technological technical and economic service); current and development financing of agriculture and rural economy i finally, institution of information technology development. With this kind of institutional infrastructure and their modern business function, it was inevitable to increase the efficiency in the production and development of economic entities in agriculture on the one hand, and on the other, to reduce business costs and market competitiveness both on the domestic and foreign markets. But, unfortunately, it was all in vain, because the highlight did not suit someone?
Thus, the centralist organization and management of the agrarian system in Montenegro tied the entire agrarian system in a knot, which put decision-making in the hands of one man, whose decisions depended on the economic development fate of the entire agrarian economy in Montenegro.
Third, decades of wandering of the Montenegrin agrarian system led to the fact that today land in Montenegro is used with slightly more than 6 percent. Devastating, what else can I say? In the agriculturally developed countries of Europe, the degree of land use for production purposes ranges from 90 to 100 percent. In fact, in some Baltic countries this is not enough, so people push the sea towards the open sea in order to conquer new land space for the development of their economic activities. I remember for a long time, but I never noticed that in the past transitional decades, the agrarian authorities expressed concern over this cruel fact that strongly warns?!
And finally, something about priorities. I ask, why Solana in Ulcinj is not in the focus of the development priorities of the current agrarian government? Speaking of this dare, I ask further - why the dairy in Berane was shut down, despite the fact that the Polima area is a unique and rarely attractive natural and market area in Montenegro, which prefers the development of milk and dairy products and meat production. The aforementioned dairy, i.e. its management at the time, with the wholehearted help of the agricultural authorities, made a cardinal mistake in the realization of the project of packing drinking milk in tetra-pak material, whereby the management of the dairy was forced to put a key in the lock of the Beran dairy. Why should this dairy not be activated in production and realize the packaging of drinking milk in tetra-packs, instead of in polyethylene films?
And finally, did the 100 percent export-oriented canned fish factory (smoked carp and sardines) in Rijeka Crnojevića really have to be shut down, without anyone getting a headache?
It would be interesting to hear what the Montenegrin biotechnical science and education system think about the highlighted problems?
Bonus video:
