Summary of newspapers of the previous day – 21. 12. 2009

Pupils will have fruit and vegetable for free, government told

Pupils of first to sixth years in Czech Primary schools can get fruit and vegetable for free in 2010. A proposal of this program was approved by the government. The main resource for its financing will be the budget of European Union from which 53 million of the total almost 73 million crowns should go in schools for fruit and vegetable. Remaining less than 20 million crowns will be provided by the state from its budget. Petr Vorlíček, a spokesman of the Ministry of Agriculture stated.

Cancel Euro-subsidies of farmers, 22 elite economists call up

The present agricultural EU policy and the system of agricultural subsidies have to be fundamentally changed. A declaration of a group of 22 top European agricultural economists, in which only a signature of a representative from France is missing of significant countries, states that. The document is historically the first public common presentation of economists – specialist in agriculture – against the agricultural policy. They bring it at time when on the contrary farmers ask for increase in subsidies in streets in more European countries.

High plum crop will significantly increase brandy production in small stills

Over fifteen years, a record year for plum brandy is announced by Czech grower small stills this year. While in 2008/2009 season they produced about five million liters of absolute alcohol, in 2009/2010 it will be according to preliminary estimations by two million liters more. It will be one of the strongest years. Thanks to it grower small stills will give about a half billion crowns in a consumption tax in the state budget. A chairman of the Stillmen Union of the CR, Václav Šitner, said it to the ČTK.

SZIF paid off first applications for national evening-up Top-Up

On the November 18, the State Agricultural Intervention Fund (SZIF) sent over 33 mil. CZK on accounts of the first fifteen applicants for so called national evening-up to the Unified payment on area. In total 24 693 applications were received for Top-Up and as much as 6,3 bil. CZK can be paid off. In frame of the national evening-up, farmers can ask for example for payment for agricultural land, for flax, for hop, for ruminants, for cows (not determined for milk), for sheep, for goats, or for potato starch. The biggest interest was in a subsidy for agricultural land this year, than for ruminants and for cows. Applicant who ticked a cell “agricultural land” in a form will get in total 4,2 bil. CZK from SZIF.