Bijelo Polje Municipal Assembly in Montenegro approved a 40,000-euro reallocation in its agricultural budget to mitigate drought impacts on livestock farmers. It shifted money from lower-priority measures to livestock and milk-processing support, raising the livestock aid budget from 165,000 to 205,000 euros. The total allocation for the agricultural programme remains unchanged.
The reallocated amount goes directly to support for milk processing, according to Vladan Rudić, assistant secretary of the relevant municipal secretariat, who explained the changes. The maximum direct financial support available to an individual farm has increased from 500 to 800 euros. “The new maximum is now 800 euros per farm,” Rudić said.
The municipality reduced several other budget lines to make the funding available. Subsidies for protective greenhouse film fell from 15,000 to 5,000 euros, while support for constructing milk-processing and cheese-production facilities also dropped from 15,000 to 5,000 euros. Funding for beekeepers to buy hives and equipment was cut from 20,000 to 10,000 euros, and the allocation for scarce machinery purchases decreased from 45,000 to 35,000 euros. The changes shift support toward livestock and dairy processing without increasing the programme’s overall budget.
