Traditional agriculture and life in the Montenegrin countryside have long been a thing of our past. What constitutes an alternative to life and the economic structure of bygone times in the countryside is a question that has no answer yet. New times require new solutions, which the agrarian authorities in Montenegro seem not to be very interested in!
General observation
According to the results of scientific and professional research, it has been undoubtedly established that the Montenegrin agrarian system lacks scientifically and professionally based solutions to agrarian policy for the new era! We are talking about two groups of challenging problems: sstrict respect for natural and market laws which it requires the environment in which life and economic structure in the village exist, on one side, and on the other, quality establishment of a new and marketable offer, which includes exclusive and high-quality products in and tourist services in the countryside, as well as recognizable indigenous Montenegrin product and long-term development goals!
Anyone who doubts this thesis should look at the current production and service structure in the Montenegrin countryside and its quality, compared to the Program of Objectives of this year's state incentives for agriculture and the rural economy, also compared to how they do it in Austria and Slovenia - and much will become clearer to them.
The statics on which every good agricultural policy rests
The issues in question gain in importance if we consider the questions on which and what kind of "static pillars" (foundations) the agrarian concept, i.e. the economy and development of the rural economic structure in developed European countries, rests, which have been achieving enormously high production and economic results for decades, thanks to which they generate high profits and feed almost half of the world's population.
On this occasion, I would like to point out that in countries with developed agrarian economies, there are four foundation - supporting pillars, which maintain the "static" of the economic sector in question and which represents the main lever of economic and social stability in these countries, namely:
Precise goals and the prerequisites for achieving the adopted development goals in agriculture and rural economy, determined by the state agricultural policy in the short and long term;
Organization of agricultural entities in space and modern management of processes both at the level of state agricultural policy and at lower levels of organization of economic entities in the agricultural economy;
Possessing strong institutions of the agrarian system, without which it is illusory to expect a reliable and sustainable economic structure, and finally,
Decentralized management of the agricultural system (state and field organizational level) and responsibility of the management structure for what has been done or not done at both levels (5).
In addition to the above, let me say right away that it is unclear what the slogan "Montenegro is a unique cluster" represents in the current Montenegrin agrarian policy. Because it has long been known that the agricultural area in Montenegro is treated as a unique and developmental area, whose father and mother are a unique agrarian policy on the one hand, and on the other, a special subsystem of agrarian policy at lower (field) levels of organization.
In this regard, clusters represent an economic and development entity, which has its own legal and economic integrity in the governing system of state agricultural policy.
The doubts are all the greater when one considers the fact that, on average, a farm in Montenegro is in "woolen trousers" with exceptions, while the European cluster lives in a "lister suit".
In order to overcome this developmental imbalance between the Montenegrin and European clusters, the road is long and extremely difficult and expensive. I am inclined to argue that on the path to overcoming this imbalance, the Montenegrin agricultural economy today lacks a decentralized hybrid agricultural system with five agro-ecological and climatic zones, which seek their own management and development goals (coastal region; Mediterranean region; valley region; karst region and high mountain region) behind which stands a unique (common) agricultural policy on the one hand, and on the other, special solutions for specific agricultural (regional) areas, which would give everyone within the framework of a unique agricultural policy a legally equal position.
Finally, and very importantly, it is important to emphasize the need to return to Montenegrin agriculture and the rural economy. take away statusa priority development branches!
In addition to the above, it is necessary to solve a decades-old dilemma - how to develop commodity (market) production on a Montenegrin farm with an average farm land fund of 3.5 hectares, compared to the European average of a farm of 20, 30 and 50 hectares of developed land territory, which represents a major development problem arising from the fact that Montenegro has not had a land policy for too long!
The moment we have a farmer (cluster) that can independently - as a European - act on the market, at that moment both the farmer and the state will be significantly relaxed!
But, let me emphasize again, it is a long, arduous, and with many uncertainties, thorny path that costs a lot! However, Montenegro has no other choice but to accept the burden of a billion euros in food imports and thus permanently remain an economically incomplete and unstable country.
It is hard to believe that the current agrarian policy can lead Montenegro along the paths of development on the desired basis, without radical reforms of the current agrarian policy!
In this claim, I believe that the numerous promises of the agricultural authorities, let alone the propaganda messages about "market patriotism", cannot help us, because the consumer will still prefer to buy "my cow" in a tetrapack, rather than our milk in a polyethylene bag, or cheese from a wooden tub and a housewife's ladle?
Farm (cluster), and without a development concept
Let's be clear, I don't even have it in my subconscious that the agricultural authorities or someone else is imposing their own concepts or development projects on farmers that have no basis in the farmer's acceptability and that must have proven economic statics or sustainability?
However, in contrast to the previous fact, I also have no dilemma about the fact that the state agricultural policy should originally emerge as a product of science and expertise, verified by the Government and Parliament of Montenegro, whereby the adopted policy must possess solutions for at least two groups of problems, which are:
Land and modern economic development policy, which should be maximally stimulating for farm production, with the aim of using land resources as much and better as possible for production purposes, and
A complex of extensive state incentives (current and developmental) on the path to transferring farm production from the economy volume on the economy exclusivity and high quality recognizable as Montenegrin products.
Very restrained, but I must finally conclude that Montenegro has almost nothing of the kind that is prominent today?!
To make matters more complex and uncertain, biotechnical science and the education system in Montenegro have been silent for decades and have no position on how to break free from the demographic scourge and economic development lag, which has pushed Montenegro to the penultimate or last place in the ranking of agriculturally developed countries in Europe!
Therefore, I propose that a committee be formed within the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management, or within the Government of Montenegro. Council for Agricultural and Rural Development in Montenegro, which would be staffed by well-known domestic and regional scientists and experts, as well as prominent representatives of Austria and Slovenia from this economic field.
The task of this body would be contained in the request of the contracting authority to propose to the relevant ministry and the Government of Montenegro a Platform (Program) for reforming the current agricultural policy (system) in Montenegro, taking into account both the existing situation and Montenegrin natural and market specificities, as well as the knowledge and practice of agriculturally developed European countries.
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