Serbia reports 97% drop in agricultural fires

The Serbian Ministry of Agriculture, in collaboration with the Ministry of Internal Affairs, has reported a significant reduction in agricultural fires. Following measures agreed upon on October 1 to increase surveillance and suppression efforts, the daily number of fires on agricultural land has dropped from approximately 500 to 16, representing a decrease of nearly 97 percent.

During the first day of the joint operation involving agricultural inspectors and police, six individuals were caught on-site admitting to burning harvest residues, with four being detained. As a consequence, the agricultural holdings associated with these six individuals will be placed in passive status, resulting in the loss of rights to state subsidies for the duration of that status. Additionally, the agricultural inspection has visited over 860 plots and submitted more than 60 initiatives to place various agricultural holdings into passive status.