Invites An Expert from Croatia, IPB Solves Agriculture Problem

Directorate of International Programs, IPB University (IPB) conducted The 26th IPB Talk. This IPB Talk invited an agriculture expert from Croatia, Prof. Zlatko Sve?njak. Prof. Zlatko delivered several important materials about agriculture industry in Croatia and Europe which can adapt to the four-season climate. The discussion which was held on Friday (12/4) was moderated by Dr. Nurul Khumaida, a lecturer of Department of Agronomy and Horticulture, Faculty of Agriculture, IPB.

Prof. Zlatko started the discussion by explaining about the problems faced by farmers in Croatia. “Croatia is a country with a continental climate, in which the lands used by the farmers only account as much as 23,2 percent of all Croatian area. That is so much different than the case in Nebraska, United States; 99 percent of the land is arable. The other problems are water puddles which are caused by melting snow. The puddles soak almost all the lands there, including lands on the riverbanks. We also have winter there, and no food crops can grow during that season,” explained the Professor, who teaches in Faculty of Agriculture, Zagreb University.

Prof. Zlatko also talked about tobacco industries in Croatia and Europe. “Tobacco is one of very important commodities in Croatia, besides wheat and corn. Nevertheless, tobacco farming has a strict regulation. I observe that in Indonesia many people smoke. If you were in Europe you would want to think few times before deciding to smoke. Besides of its danger to our health, it also poses danger to our financial condition, because of its very high tax,” explained Prof. Zlatko, greeted by the laughters of the audience.

The next issue brought by Prof. Zlatko is land availability in Croatia and Europe. “One of the interesting issues in agriculture is land availability. According to the studies, for one family living in Europe who wants to make a living from agriculture, at least 100 hectares of land is needed. That already accounts for the subsidy provided for the family. Because of that, European countries have to produce a good policy in land ownership, especially about land inheritance,” said Prof. Zlatko.

Prof. Zlatko closed the discussion by briefly talking about rice consumption in Croatia and Croatian agriculture advantages. “Actually, the main problem in our agriculture is the oversupply of products. With all the obstacles that I have mentioned, our production is still excessive. Our main consumptions are wheat and corn. Rice might be staple in Indonesia, but its consumption in Croatia is only 8 kilograms per capita per year. Moreover, I would like to tell you that Croatian’s economy main contributor is tourism. Twenty-five percent of our GDP is contributed by that sector, so I hope that someday you would visit my country,” said Prof. Zlatko. (Ard)