The market comes to you, while, of course, all the prescribed precautions are observed

27. March 2020. VeeMee

Croatia is agriculture on its knees. Due to the closed markets, the livelihoods of thousands of farmers who do not know where to go with fruit, vegetables and meat are endangered – everything will soon fall apart.

Several family farms found their salvation on a virtual plot. Fresh food from the Croatian fields of our farmers arrives in this store, and from there it is delivered to the citizens to the doorstep.

“It is packaged, stacked and delivered within 48 hours. The biggest jump was in the last week. It certainly exceeded any expectations and existing business in that regard,” store owner David Dravinec said.

From fruits and vegetables to milk, flour, pasta and jams – you can order just about anything, which encourages the purchase of Croatian products. David says that even though they have had a web store for several years since the pandemic and closed markets, the demand is much higher and they even had to hire more people.

“What we can get is homemade, from our family farms, we try to get one hundred per cent, of course, we can’t get some things, bananas, kiwis, but everything that can be homemade is homemade,” said Dravinec.

The market is coming to you

And so the plot comes to you, while, of course, all the prescribed precautions are respected.

The Ministry of Agriculture also remembered that this way of buying could save a part of domestic producers.

“We, the line ministry, are also working on creating a joint online platform. Such platforms also exist on an entrepreneurial basis of smaller scope and nature, and the Ministry of Agriculture will contribute to the goal of digitalization,” said Agriculture Minister Marija Vuckovic.

But it is an idea that has been around for several years. There is a digital platform that brings together more than 1,200 farms. In just a few clicks, you can find everything about the origin of the product that someone wants to buy, as well as the contact that directly connects the buyer or supplier with the manufacturer.

In other words, you can see in which part of Croatia and on how many hectares of land lay the peppers that you have or are about to buy.

Farmers are looking for solutions on their own

“We have now actually opened a separate segment we have called it a digital market in which we have even tried to filter out farmers we know for sure can deliver to the doorstep,” said the founder of the digital platform, Marko Kozjak.

VeeMee - Marko Kozjak

Helena is also on that platform, who with Dad Darko has 136 pieces of beef and produces pumpkin oil and flour. Since the pandemic and the current bans, all her cooperation has been cancelled, and the state, she claims, has not turned its back on her for help.

“The export of meat to Italy is completely banned, while Croatia still imports meat from Italy and fruits and vegetables en masse. The markets have closed, we have no real income now, and the cattle should go out because we expect to calve.

So far, our cooperation with the local slaughterhouse has been excellent, but now the slaughterhouse has no one to work for because its main income was the sale of meat at Dolac, “said the owner of the OPG Vugec, Helena Vugec Pavek.

OPG Vugec

The question is why the capacities of Croatian agriculture are not used now, but even in this period, retail chains import from other countries. While the state seeks answers, many farmers seek solutions on their own.

Source – RTL:

https://www.rtl.hr/vijesti-hr/koronavirus/3671429/poljoprivrednici-su-nasli-rjesenje-domace-proizvode-s-farmi-donose-u-vase-domove/?utm_source=vijestiFB&utm_medium=post&utm_campaign=organic&utm_content=RTLdirekt

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