Statistical Office of Montenegro - MONSTAT participated in the Seventh IPARD III Monitoring Committee Meeting, held on 28 May 2026 in Podgorica and organized by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management. The meeting took place within the framework of the official visit of the European Commission delegation (DG AGRI) to Montenegro, during which the results of the implementation of the IPARD III Programme and the next steps in the process of alignment with the European Union’s Common Agricultural Policy were discussed.

MONSTAT was represented by Nataša Vojinović, Acting Assistant Director of the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries, Environment and Forestry Statistics and member of the IPARD III Monitoring Committee. She delivered a presentation on the results of the 2024 Agricultural Census, with the aim of identifying key trends based on the published data and highlighting the importance of using official statistics as a reliable basis for timely action, policy design, and the formulation of quality recommendations in the field of agriculture.

The presentation covered indicators related to the number and structure of agricultural holdings, utilised agricultural area, crop and livestock production, on-farm processing, labour force, machinery, as well as the impact of climate change on agricultural production. Particular attention was given to regional differences and changes in the structure of agricultural production between the two census periods.

The presented results indicated the continuation of structural changes in Montenegrin agriculture. Data from the 2024 Agricultural Census showed a decrease in the number of agricultural holdings compared to 2010, changes in the use of agricultural land, an increase in the average number of livestock units per holding, as well as challenges related to the demographic structure of holding managers and the effects of climate change.

MONSTAT’s participation in the work of the IPARD III Monitoring Committee is of particular importance for the design, monitoring, and evaluation of rural development policies and the implementation of the IPARD Programme, given that high-quality and comparable statistical data provide the foundation for evidence-based decision-making.