Can Croatia feed itself in a crisis?

Croatia’s ability to feed its population in a crisis has come under scrutiny, with declining agricultural production, labour shortages and reliance on imported food identified as key challenges to national food security.

As HRT reported, the issue was discussed at the interparliamentary conference From Field to Sea – A Shared Vision for EU Food Security and Strategic Autonomy, held in Dubrovnik, where participants called for stronger domestic production and more predictable support for farmers.

Food security is increasingly being viewed as a national security issue amid climate change, geopolitical tensions and disruptions to international supply chains.

Marijana Petir, president of the Croatian Parliament’s Agriculture Committee, said farmers and fishers were essential to ensuring a reliable food supply. She called for shorter supply chains and a greater share of domestically produced food on Croatian tables.

Petir also argued that Croatia needed to change its approach to agricultural policy, pointing to the economic disadvantages of exporting raw agricultural materials while importing finished products.

Agricultural production faces several challenges

Although Croatia has examples of highly productive agricultural businesses, particularly in greenhouse vegetable production, further expansion is being constrained by a shortage of specialised workers.

Tomislav Vinković, dean of the Faculty of Agrobiotechnical Sciences in Osijek, highlighted the need for better agricultural and food technology education, including more trained agricultural technicians and agronomists. Relatively low wages in the sector were another obstacle.

Zdravko Tušek, state secretary at the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, said young farmers accounted for around 14% of Croatian farmers, compared with an EU average of 12%. Increasing their numbers and helping them take over agricultural holdings were among the country’s priorities.

Aindrias Moynihan, chairman of the EU Joint Committee on Agriculture and Food, stressed that farmers needed a stable policy framework, viable incomes and confidence that farming would remain a sustainable livelihood for future generations.

EU funding and tourism among key issues

The conference also addressed proposed changes to the EU’s next budgetary period, with concerns raised over potential reductions in funding for agriculture and fisheries.

Petir called for sufficient financing to improve farmers’ productivity and competitiveness. She also proposed treating the sale of products below production costs as an unfair trading practice, arguing that price pressure could undermine domestic producers.

Tourism was identified as another opportunity to strengthen local food production. However, much of the food served to visitors in Croatia is imported.

Nikolina Trojić, president of the Croatian Chamber of Economy’s Dubrovnik-Neretva County Chamber, proposed establishing a regional logistics and distribution centre to collect products from smaller producers and supply hotels, hospitality businesses and other customers.

The conference concluded that food security depends on domestic production, strategic and operational reserves, reliable infrastructure and sufficient long-term funding.

Participants stressed that strengthening these foundations would help Croatia and the wider European Union maintain food supplies during future crises.