Czech fish farmers are set to receive significant support in the form of European funds.
As of next October, breeders will be able to draw up to CZK 1.1 billion (€36.7 million) from the Agriculture Ministry’s Operational Programme, largely funded by the European Union, Radio Prague reports.
One of the main goals of the new operational programme is to support fish consumption in the Czech Republic, which remains one of the lowest within the European Union. Czechs consume on average six kilo of fish per year, and freshwater fish make about a third of that amount.
According to Agriculture Minister Marián Jurečka, Czech fish farmers will receive CZK 1.1 billion altogether – around CZK 855 million from the European funds and the rest from the Czech state budget.
The funds should be used mainly for maintaining and modernising fish farms and ponds, but they can also be used for promoting fishing tourism and fish-processing companies.
Previous attempts to boost fish consumption in the Czech Republic have not been very successful, Radio Prague recalls.
The ministry launched several massive campaigns in the past, but their effect on the sales of Czech fish has been negligible.
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