The Ministry of Agriculture is changing the evidence of purchase for seeds and seedlings in the Support Program

The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries has amended the conditions for proving the purchase of certified seeds and seedlings in the Support Program for the Sowing of Certified Seeds and the Planting of Certified Seedlings for the period 2026–2030. The Ordinance on amendments was published in Official Gazette No. 107/2026 on September 23, 2026, under the official designation Art. 1288, and enters into force on the first day following the date of publication, September 24, 2026.

The Ordinance is adopted based on Article 8, paragraph 6 of the Act on Seeds, Planting Material and Recognition of Agricultural Plant Varieties (Official Gazette No. 110/21) and amends the Ordinance on the Implementation of the Support Program for the Sowing of Certified Seeds and the Planting of Certified Seedlings for the period 2026–2030 (Official Gazette No. 94/26). The amendments refer to Article 6 and Article 9 of the basic ordinance, which regulate the conditions for beneficiaries of support for the sowing of seeds and the planting of certified seedlings.

This is a program that co-finances the use of certified reproductive material for farmers, and the amendments specify the evidence of purchase and prescribe the minimum quantity of seed per hectare. Other acts from the agricultural sector were also published in the same issue of the Official Gazette, including an amendment to the ordinance on blue diesel and an order on control measures for African swine fever.

New Evidence of Seed Purchase

According to the amended Article 6, paragraph 1, subparagraph c), beneficiaries must possess evidence of the purchase of certified soybean seeds and/or cereal crops. The evidence is a copy of the invoice or other credible accounting document issued in the name of the beneficiary, for each year of the Program’s implementation.

The new paragraph 3 prescribes the period in which the evidence must be issued: from June 1 of the year preceding the year of application submission until May 31 of the year in which the application is submitted.

Quantity of Soybean Seeds and Conditions for Seedlings

Paragraph 2, subparagraph a) prescribes a soybean seed quantity of 80 kg/ha or 400,000 grains/ha.

For seedlings, the amended Article 9, paragraph 1, subparagraph d) requires evidence of the purchase of CERT category seedlings of fruit species and/or grapevines. Seedlings must be purchased from registered suppliers of agricultural planting material entered in the Register of Suppliers of Agricultural Planting Material, accompanied by a copy of the invoice or other credible accounting document in the name of the beneficiary for each year of the Program’s implementation. The same deadline for issuing evidence applies to seedlings: from June 1 of the previous year until May 31 of the year of application submission.

Key Changes

• Proof of purchase of certified soybean seeds and/or cereal crops must be issued in the name of the beneficiary.
• The prescribed quantity of soybean seeds is 80 kg/ha or 400,000 seeds/ha.
• Proof of purchase of CERT category seedlings of fruit species and/or grapevines must originate from registered suppliers entered in the Register of Suppliers of Agricultural Planting Material.
• Proofs must be issued in the period from June 1st of the year preceding the year of application submission to May 31st of the year in which the application is submitted.
• The Ordinance enters into force on the first day from the date of publication, September 24, 2026.

Significance for Farmers

The changes directly affect all beneficiaries receiving support for the sowing of certified seeds and the planting of certified seedlings in the period 2026–2030. Farmers must ensure that invoices and other documents are issued in their name and are issued within the prescribed period, otherwise the proof of purchase will not be accepted.

The Ordinance was signed by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries David Vlajčić, and was published in Narodne novine No. 107/2026 on September 23, 2026, under Art. 1288.

»(3) Proofs of purchase from paragraph 1 subparagraph c) of this Article must be issued in the period from June 1st of the year preceding the year of submission of the Application to May 31st of the year in which the Application is submitted.«

— Ordinance on Amendments to the Ordinance on the Implementation of the Support Program for the Sowing of Certified Seeds and Planting of Certified Seedlings for the Period 2026–2030, Narodne novine No. 107/2026, Art. 1288