Summary of newsmakers of the previous day – 28.3.2008

National additional payments to direct supports passed through novelization

More than seven billion crowns for almost 25 000 applicants is suggested for this year by the Ministry of Agriculture for national additional payments. The novel of statutory order which the minister Petr Gandalovič proposed today governs a system of national additional payments administration for direct supports from 2008 and further. The additional payments will further aim above all at sectors of agriculture disadvantaged by a system of unified payment per area of agricultural land; in comparison with last adjustments administrative load will be substantially reduced.

Spring for Earth continues

A campaign Spring for Earth was opened last week by announcing an art competition “My piece of Earth” organized by the Czech Geological service in cooperation with the Ministry of Environment CR (MŽP). According to a spokesman of MŽP Jakub Kašpar there are also other activities. Foe example results of a competition “What you about it?” were announced yesterday. It was organized under the auspices of MŽP by the Foundation Partnership and British Council. The winner was a team of students from the University of Economics who suggested a series of measures to reduce energy costingness of operation of their university campus.

LČR: Decentralization will have taken place by the end of this year

According to a general director of the state enterprise Lesy České republiky (LČR) Jiří Novák at present there is such a situation in the branch as it were here for the last time in time of the World War II. A reason is, according to Novák, a mortgage crisis in the USA, a wind storms Emma and Kirsten, and a fall of wood price in the worldwide basis. Despite that in his opinion tasks of the Minister of Agriculture are successfully fulfilled. “Three basic things were successfully finished – solution of tenders, linking to a cooperation with the Confederation of Forestry and Wood-processing Union, and security of continuous trade with wood since the beginning of year”, Novák added.

Amendment of law on fertilizers

An amendment of law on fertilizers brings several modern measures supporting economical management. The approved amendment reduces acreage necessary for registration in an endowment title Biopásy (Bio-zones); further the amendment increases a tariff for grass stands for farmers managing exclusively ecologically. The approved material enables also pasture of farm animals after realization of the first grass-cutting on localities with the land rail; it adjusts requirements for use of fertilizers and solves possibility of ploughing of grass stand in order to fertilize the land (so called renewal). Further the document changes some sanction and specifies control mechanisms. The material removes partial insufficienci es which were shown by the practice.

Gandalovič will fix officers’ wagon

The Minister of Agriculture Petr Gandalovič decided to originally “sweep” bureaucracy in his office. He set a commission, another bureaucratic unit, which should fight with a rampant paperwork. According to an official expression of the ministry its aim is “to solve increasing administrative load in the resort”. A ten-member group will meet once in month. Among others it will judge regulations and law proposals whether they are not too inapprehensible for farmers.