Agriculture minister: Taking stock of storm damage

Minister Branislav Nedimovic said that teams from local communities were investigating the damage caused by the storms. He told Belgrade daily Blic that most of the hail storms hit central parts of the country, adding that more than 1,100 anti-hail rockets had been fired on Wednesday bringing the total fired since April 15 to almost 8,000.

“In comparison, the average over the past 10 years was up to 3,000 and we have almost 8,000 this year. We have had 38 days when rockets were fired,” the minister said. He said that Serbia has sufficient amounts of anti-hail rockets which he claims have a success rate in preventing hail storms of 50 to 60 percent.

The minister said a radar centre would be built as part of the anti-hail protection system but added that the best protection for farmers is insurance. “The state provides 40 percent of the insurance premiums. The state pays back a share and you pay the rest. That’s not too great a price compared to the possible damage,” Nedimovic said.