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Jurica Jašinski
Episode · #35

AGROBIZ Jurica Jašinski

Guest Jurica JašinskiHosted by Miroslav KuskunovićMay 3, 2026
About this episode
What you'll hear in this conversation

Croatia's agricultural landscape is marked by a unique and contentious issue: the vast tracts of state-owned land. While most of Europe has long privatized such holdings, Croatia's continued state ownership is, for many, a significant barrier to development, costing the nation billions. Jurica Jašinski, Secretary of the "Život" Family Farm Association, has been a vocal advocate for immediate privatization, arguing that the current system is not only inefficient but also actively detrimental to the country's food security and economic potential. He explains why this issue is more than just a bureaucratic hurdle, detailing the staggering amount of lost land, the economic damage, and the structural inequities that favor large players over independent family farms. This conversation sheds light on the deep-seated problems facing Croatian agriculture and what it might take to revitalize it.

Insights from the conversation
What to take from this episode
01
The very concept of state-owned agricultural land is largely unknown in Western European countries, where private ownership is the norm. Croatia's continued adherence to this model isn't just a bureaucratic difference; it creates fundamental instability for farmers who cannot plan for generations on leased land.
02
When the Ministry of Agriculture openly states it cannot account for 425,000 hectares of agricultural land, it signals more than mere inefficiency. This admission reveals a critical lack of control over a national resource, creating profound uncertainty for every farmer and the wider economy.
03
The disappearance of 1.5 million hectares of arable land since the pre-war era, leaving only 1.15 million hectares currently cultivated, is not merely a statistical decline. It represents a systemic failure of policy and oversight, costing the nation billions in lost production and EU subsidies.
04
The annual economic damage from unutilized state agricultural land is estimated at 3 to 4 billion kuna, not including the value of lost production. This figure highlights the immediate financial cost of administrative inertia, far beyond just agricultural output.
05
Despite new legislation intended to address land allocation, the only significant leases awarded in the past year and a half have gone to large entities like Agrokor, not small family farms. This pattern suggests that policy often reinforces existing power structures, regardless of stated intentions to support smaller producers.
06
The core reason for demanding land sales isn't immediate access, but intergenerational security. Farmers need to know what land they own and control to plan for their children and grandchildren, rather than facing perpetual uncertainty with short-term leases.
07
The concern that farmers might buy land at preferential rates only to resell it for profit can be easily addressed. A simple contractual clause requiring land retention for a set number of years prevents speculative purchases and ensures the land remains in agricultural use.
08
Agrokor's unique position as a retail chain owning vast tracts of agricultural land is almost unheard of in Europe. This structure, the guest argues, fundamentally distorted the local agricultural system by limiting market access and fair competition for smaller producers.
09
The "Život" association, with over 400 family farms, collectively cultivates more land than the entire Agrokor system. This demonstrates that fragmented smallholdings, when organized, can rival the scale of large corporations and represent a significant force in the agricultural sector.
10
Even official bodies like the Croatian Chamber of Agriculture struggle to secure meetings with the Minister, unable to "get to him." This breakdown in basic communication signals a deeper disconnect between policymakers and the agricultural sector they are meant to serve.
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