UNCLAS LJUBLJANA 000106

SIPDIS


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E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ECON ETRD PINR SI
SUBJECT: SLOVENIA APPROVES TRADE WITH GMOs; COM MEETS NEW
SLOVENIAN AGRICULTURAL MINISTER MARIJA LUKACIC


1. Summary: In a February 10 courtesy call by COM, new
Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, and Food, Marija
Lukacic, highlighted Slovenia's goals of promoting rural
development and adopting legislation to improve the
competitiveness of Slovene farmers. This would be
accomplished by increasing the size of individual farms
through a land purchase program based on the French
model. The Minister described Slovenia's goals for
developing organic farming and increasing the area
dedicated to this from 5% to 15% of farmland over the
next 10 years. Lukacic noted that Slovenia's position on
biotech complies with the EU position, and Slovenia would
not pose any additional restrictions on the trade of GMO
products. Production of GMO crops is permitted, however
none are currently under cultivation. They will not be
permitted in specific areas, especially the alpine region
of the northwestern Slovenia, which she hopes will become
the organic farming center of the country. At the end of
the meeting, which was in general very positive and open,
Lukacic expressed a strong interest in learning more
about USG organic farming methods, especially in
marketing of organic produce. She was open to an
exchange of information on biotech issues. End Summary.

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Ministry's Main Priorities
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2. The Ambassador was accompanied by Agriculture
Counselor Quintin Gray(based in Vienna), Pol/Econ Chief
Econ/Comm Specialist, and the FSN Agriculture Specialist
based at Embassy Zagreb. Lukacic, was joined by State
Secretary France But (a former Minister of Agriculture),

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and Head of the Department of International Affairs,
Marko Verbic.


3. The Minister described her primary goal as rural
development through increasing the competitiveness of
Slovene farmers and stemming the exodus from the
countryside. To achieve this, Lukacic seeks significant
legislative changes to encourage a consolidation of
individual farms. Currently, there are approximately
77,000 farms with an average size of less than 5
hectares. Though many very small farms will be bought
out

, the intention is to keep the small farm alive, but
at a more viable size, and to maintain the current total
area of Slovenia under cultivation. According to
Ministry statistics, approximately 7-8 farms go bankrupt
each day. These farmlands, if not sold, tend to revert
to forest. With 60 percent of Slovenia already covered
by forests (the largest percentage in Europe),
maintaining the land for cultivation is seen as a high
priority.

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Rural Development
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4. In its endeavor to keep the countryside alive, the
Ministry is following the French model of using a central
farmland fund to purchase any farmland available and than
sell or lease it to more prosperous farmers under
favorable terms. This fund now owns about one quarter of
Slovenia's farmland. The fund requires substantial
changes in its legal framework, however, in order to
streamline and facilitate the process of trading
farmland. Lukacic ultimately wants to privatize the
fund.


5. Lukacic has a complementary goal to use agriculture
as the basis for other activities in the countryside,
including tourism and organic farming. According to State
Secretary But, Slovenia will follow the initiatives of

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neighboring Austria and Italy, with the ultimate goal of
creating a trans-border region free of conventional and
biotech farming methods. The area targeted is the alpine
region of northwestern Slovenia, which borders Italy and
Austria. The acreage devoted to organic farming in this
region currently represents 5% of all cultivated land in
Slovenia. The Ministry's goal is to raise this to 15%
over the next 10 years.

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BIOTECH
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6. In the alpine regions where organic farming is


encouraged, the government prohibits the use of
GMO/biotech seeds. However, in the lowland farming areas
of eastern Slovenia, where primarily wheat and grains are
cultivated, But acknowledged the need to integrate GMO
technology. He stressed the Ministry's appreciation of
the importance of GMO technology to large, commercial
farmers. His view was that GMO technology is inevitable,
especially in light of harsh weather conditions. He said
Slovenia would follow EU directives on GMO. Lukacic also
clarified that Slovenia is GMO friendly "as much as we
have to be," and would not place extra restrictions on
the import of GMO products.


7. In concluding the meeting, COM and AgCounselor Gray
offered to exchange U.S. know-how in organic farming as
well as in biotech. Lukacic and But expressed great
interest in these fields. But was especially interested
in learning more about the marketing of organic produce.

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COMMENT
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8. The overall atmosphere of the meeting was positive
and open as were the dynamics between the Minister and
her advisers. Slovenia's accession to the EU brought
many changes to Slovene farmers. They now face fierce
competition, and markets for fresh produce and other
types of food have become more fluid. Farmers' subsidies
still represent a heavy burden to the GOS budget, and
numerous farm bankruptcies reflect a serious social
problem in rural areas of the country. The Minister's
plan is targeted primarily at those critical areas and,
since it is based on an already existing model (France),
the hope is that it has a greater chance for success.

ROBERTSON


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2005LJUBLJ00106 - Classification: UNCLASSIFIED



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