Montenegro’s Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management Vladimir Joković has written to farmers as an information campaign on the European Union’s Common Agricultural Policy begins, warning that EU membership will not solve agricultural problems overnight or automatically increase support. His letter says closer integration could offer a way to address the sector’s challenges more systematically and over the longer term.
The letter, titled “From our farms towards a European future”, forms part of the campaign “The Common Agricultural Policy for all – From our farms towards a European future”. It considers what Montenegro’s approach to the EU could mean for producers. Joković’s message comes as Montenegro enters what he describes as the final phase of European integration.
Small-farm survival, compliance with European standards, future subsidies and competition from large European producers are among the concerns facing farmers, according to the minister’s letter. “The European Union will not solve all the problems of our agriculture overnight,” Joković wrote, adding that membership could allow them to be tackled better, more systematically and over a longer period.
Support and market access
EU membership would not automatically bring higher support payments for every farmer, Joković cautioned. Future assistance would depend on European rules, Montenegro’s negotiations and decisions on national priorities. He pledged to advocate more predictable support, clearer rules and accessible opportunities for farms seeking to develop their businesses.
The Common Agricultural Policy allows countries to adapt support to their own needs within shared rules, the minister noted. In Montenegro’s case, his letter identifies the challenge as preparing producers for those rules while maintaining support suited to the country’s agricultural needs. The policy framework does not itself guarantee the amount of assistance an individual farmer will receive.
Joković’s assessment is that Montenegro cannot always match large European producers on volume and price. The country can instead compete through quality, authentic products and their origin, and by connecting farming with tourism and nature. The letter calls for the origin and distinctiveness of traditional products to be protected, promoted more effectively and used to open markets in Montenegro and Europe.
That approach draws on the country’s mountains and pastures, small family farms, livestock tradition and food production. Joković also pointed to generations of farmers who have maintained their holdings and villages. “Our task is not to copy European agriculture in Montenegro,” he wrote, but to find the best place for Montenegrin agriculture in Europe.
Higher output alone would not be enough if producers could not process quality products, bring them to market and get paid, the minister warned. His priorities for the coming years include more investment in knowledge and advisory services, young farmers, producer cooperation and better conditions for selling domestic products. The state, he wrote, should help people who invest, cooperate, improve production and seek a place in the market.
Preparing farms for EU rules
In recent years, Montenegro has worked to align regulations, strengthen institutions and develop support systems, according to Joković. He listed the creation of the Register of Agricultural Holdings and a new Agricultural Census among the results. Support through the Agro-budget has helped improve standards in food production and processing and create conditions for small producers to develop their businesses.
The EU’s IPARD programme has supported the modernisation of farms and processing facilities, improvements in production quality and gradual progress towards European standards. Joković described these changes as necessary for Montenegrin agriculture regardless of when the country joins the EU. The work ahead includes improving land records, aligning subsidies with European rules, strengthening advisory services and helping farms meet new standards.
Farmers were urged to get information, learn and ask questions, check their farm and land records, and speak with advisory services. Joković also encouraged them to consider ways to improve production, quality and sales. “Do not wait until the day of membership to start preparing your farm,” he wrote.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management has a duty to inform farmers about changes in good time, listen to their problems, simplify procedures where possible and represent agriculture’s actual needs in negotiations, the letter said. That responsibility sits alongside the task of helping farms prepare for changes in standards and support rules, while the final shape of future assistance remains dependent on the rules and decisions reached during EU negotiations.
Joković addressed young people considering whether to stay on family holdings or seek a future elsewhere. He said integration’s success should be measured not only by adopted European rules and the use of funds, but also by whether more young people decide to remain, work and build their futures in rural areas.
Agriculture matters to Montenegro beyond food production, the minister wrote: it sustains village life, shapes the landscape, contributes to part of the tourism offer and helps preserve tradition. The country’s European future, in his words, should provide more opportunities to protect, develop and pass on those values, rather than require Montenegro to stop being what it is.
