Summary of newspaper of the previous day – 22.9. 2011

SZPI closed illegal tofu manufactory in Brno

The State Agricultural and Food Inspection (SZPI) closed an illegal tofu manufactury in Brno-Tuřany. According to inspectors the manufactury was not certified for food production and was not keep clear. Moreover, the tofu producer did not have appropriate documents on origin of the used raw materials. A spokesman of SZPI Michal Spáčil informed on it ČTK. The premise worked in an object of former agricultural estate in Sadová street. The SZPI inspectors and policemen visited the production of tofu - a food produced from soya milk - on Wednesday.

Chamber of Deputies supported possibility of sale of state land to EU citizen

The Chamber of Deputies, today in the first reading, supported an amendment of law on sale of state agricultural and forest land which will enable to sell this land to citizen of the EU and countries of the European economic space. The material is connected with a passed amendment of exchange law which cancelled a legal limitation of purchase of agricultural land for foreigners. Now it will be dealt with by the parliamentary agricultural committee. The ban of sale of land to foreigners was negotiated by the Czech Republic in the CR accession in the EU seven years ago; this exception expired at May beginning.

Subsidies for farmers in OECD countries on record minimum last year

Subsidies for farmers in member states of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) decreased to a record minimum last year; they created 18 percents of the total farmers´ incomes. The total sum determined for farmer supports amounted according to estimations to 227.3 milliard USD (4.1 billion CZK) which represents a decline by 5.8 percents against the foregoing year. It was stated by OECD in its annual report on agricultural policy. The amount of subsidies decreased because growing world food prices weakened a significance of policies created owing to protection of farmer incomes in rich countries. At the same time OECD called upon rich countries to use the current high food prices to cancel their supports to farmers and to re-orient their agricultural policy to help poor consumers which have to cope with huge costs for maintenance of their families.

More cows than inhabitants

Actual numbers of dairy cattle in New Zealand with 4.4 mil. Animals exceeded the number of inhabitants, which amounts in this island state 4,39 mil. In an year-on-year comparison numbers of dairy cattle increased by 144 000 pieces thereby also milk production grew to 15.8 mld.kg (1,44 mld. kg of dry matter). On comparison with the foregoing year it represented an increment by 3.3 %. 39.3 % of the total amount of milk in conversion to dry matter was produced on the south island. Local dairy farms managed to produce at average a double amount of milk in comparison with farms on the north island. A cause of such a significant difference in milk yields are: a bigger size of dairy cow herds, a more dense pasturage growths and a bigger amount of production of content substances.