80,000 ha under water, tens of tonnes of dead animals

BELGRADE - Serbia's State Secretary for Agriculture Zoran Rajic has stated quoting the latest data from the field that 80,000 ha of arable land are under water in Serbia and that the damage is also great in terms of livestock.

"The Veterinary Directorate have their people on the ground and are trying to clear the animal carcasses. We have enough of all the medical supplies and vaccines," Rajic told reporters at the parliament.

He says, however, that they are lacking lorries to transport the carcasses.

Agricultural production is the highest in river valleys, so farmers growing vegetables, nursery gardens and some who focus on livestock have suffered damages that are in the range of hundreds of thousands of euros, Rajic pointed out.

The agribusiness corporation in Obrenovac has suffered more than RSD 500 million (EUR 1 = RSD 116) in damages according to some preliminary estimates, he noted.

The situation is changing each hour and the data is still being collected, so the total damage can be discussed in the coming days, he stated.

Minister for Agriculture and Environment Protection Snezana Bogosavljevic Boskovic told the parliament committee on agriculture the extent of the damage was yet to be determined, but that it was certain it was enormous.

The veterinary inspection is in the field at all times and 25 regional offices of the Veterinary Directorate have been employed and are trying to do everything to remove the carcasses and clean up.

Photo Tanjug, S. Petrovic