Farmers' representatives, led by the president of the Vukovar-Srijem County branch of the Croatian Farmers' Alliance, Tomislav Pokrovac, said they would stop protests begun yesterday provided that Kosor received them on Wednesday and signed with them a new agreement on how to resolve problems in agriculture and cattle-breeding.

Cobankovic said he could not agree something on Kosor's behalf, adding she would receive farmers' representatives as soon as she could. He said farmers had no reason for new protests as the government had paid 90 per cent of the funds due to them in accordance with an agreement reached in the spring.

He said the agreement envisaged paying 60 per cent of incentives in two instalments, the first by March 31 and the second by April 15, which he said was done, as well as a decision, to be delivered to farmers by March 22, that HRK 600 per hectare would be paid in production material, which he said was also done.

The minister said the government was only late, by nearly two months, in delivering a decision on the payment of the remaining incentives for the 2008-09 spring sowing, with June 2011 as the due date. "No bills of exchange were promised or offered," he said, adding it had been agreed with a number of commercial banks that farmers could collect their claims from the state at those banks, without having to wait until June 2011.

"If we have paid so far HRK 2.05 billion of the HRK 2.8 billion envisaged for agriculture, this shows that as minister I have the support of the premier and the finance minister and that there is no need to insist on being received by the premier," said Cobankovic.

Pokrovac, however, insisted that farmers had been cheated and that they had been promised bills of exchange. He added the purchase price of this year's wheat had also not been agreed. Farmers are asking for HRK 1.20 per kilogram.

He also asked for revoking budgetary incentives for the import of swine, yearlings and calves, for implementing European standards in the import of frozen meat and cheeses as well as in the purchase of oil rape, as well as for adopting a law on the analysis of sugar and sugar-beet, and for dropping charges against farmers who took part in the March protests.

Although Cobankovic said agreement was possible on about 90 per cent of farmers' demands, they decided to continue with the protests until Kosor receives them and signs a document to the effect that their requests will be met.

Zvonko Pipic, one of the farmers' representatives, said they might soon start blocking roads, adding that farmers in Virovitica-Podravina County were already protesting with more than 500 tractors on roads.