Lazar Cvijin, head of the Cro Fund coordinating the programme, said this was encouraging and reflected the vitality and economic potential of a community that largely depends on agriculture. More than 200 applications are expected by the 23 January deadline, mostly for machinery, equipment, farm buildings and perennial crops.
To promote the scheme, the Cro Fund and the Croatian National Council held 14 public meetings in Vojvodina towns with sizeable Croatian communities. Grants of up to €10,000 are available to Croats registered on Serbia's Croatian minority electoral roll, with community and church involvement and membership of Croatian associations given particular weight.
The call followed the creation of a register of Croatian entrepreneurs and farms in Serbia, which highlighted that Croatian farmers in Vojvodina had previously lacked such support and were therefore less competitive on the market.