Macedonia’s Agriculture Minister Tripunovski Faces Opposition Criticism Over Subsidy Cuts and Scandals

Opposition deputy Borche Cvetkov told the parliamentary session that the agriculture sector in Macedonia is in chaos. He said farmers are left to fight for their existence while subsidies have been cut and remain unpaid past the promised April and May deadlines. Cvetkov quoted the minister’s own statements, noting, "Додека се фалите со непостоечки успеси, доколку кратењето на субвенциите се обидувате да го претставите како некоја реформа, реалноста на терен е нешто друго."

Cvetkov accused Minister Cvetan Tripunovski of deepening the crisis by reducing subsidies, cancelling mechanisation calls, removing measures for micro‑producers and raising the subsidy ceiling to €1 million per user, which favours large operators. He also highlighted a series of criminal scandals in which directors of the two most important agricultural agencies were caught demanding bribes, calling for the minister’s accountability.