former HW title-holder becomes , Now largest organic producer

Incredible. as I was searching for some informations about this guy http://www.boxingscene.com/forums/showthread.php?t=110558 (unreal chin...) I've discovered this... Zeljko Mavrovic, a former European boxing heavyweight title-holder, is another Croatian who has turned to ecological farming and he is now the country's largest organic producer. "My story with ecological farming actually starts with sports and my personal development," said Mavrovic, who adopted macrobiotic philosophy at the start of his sport career in the 1990s. According to macrobiotic teaching, food and its quality affects our health, well-being and happiness. Mavrovic, 38, launched his business in 2001, after he had retired from the ring. He has a 350-hectare (867-acre) farm in Slobostina in eastern Croatia planted mostly with cereals which he processes and makes bread from. His company, employing about 100 people, produces 30,000 loaves of "eco-bread" daily. Mavrovic has also set up an education centre where he helps those who want to follow his path. "Ecological farming seemed to me as a perfect way to achieve something and to tell people my story, the story about life and its values, how we should look at ourselves and how to understand our benefit in preserving the environment," he said. -------------------------------------------- http://www.eubusiness.com/news_live/1171166402.68/ Croatia's organic farmers hope EU membership will boost their ranks 12 February 2007, 22:32 CET (LEPSIC) - Organic farmers in Croatia, where despite the country's potential this type of agriculture is limited, hope that the Balkan country's future membership of the European Union will help boost their ranks. "As Croatia will be getting closer to the European Union and as agriculture legislation will be harmonized with EU standards, our position will improve and the others would be hopefully encouraged to follow us," Mario Sever, one of the pioneers in the sector, told AFP. For Sever, the first certified organic farmer in Croatia, it all started as a hobby back in 1994 with a modest three acres of land cultivated for his family's needs. But when Sever, an architect, and his wife Ivka, an agronomist, lost their jobs the hobby become their source of income. On their current 60 hectares (148 acres) of land near Ivanic Grad, southeast of the capital Zagreb, the Sever family cultivate vegetables, fruits and cereals and raise goats and poultry. It is a family business actively involving Sever's parents, his brother and some seasonal workers. During the week they personally sell their products in three open-air markets in Zagreb and have recently managed to get three of their products onto the shelves of two supermarket chains. Croatia, with a population of 4.4 million, has 351 registered organic farmers who cultivate 3,500 out of the country's 2.5 million hectares of cultivable land. "The current number of organic farmers is extremely low and it should be higher," said Sonja Karoglan-Todorovic, the head of Ecologica, a non-governmental organization that promotes organic agriculture and environmental protection. In EU countries an average five percent of cultivatable land is used for organic farming. Administrative procedures for organic farming are much more onerous than for conventional agriculture. For years organic farmers said they felt like second-rate producers since they had to meet tough criteria which other famers did not. "It will change as Croatia is approaching the EU," said Karoglan-Todorovic. The range of regulations that previously applied only to organic farmers will now affect conventional producers too, which could encourage some to switch to organic production. Croatia opened membership talks with the EU in 2005 and is hoping to join the 27-nation bloc by the end of the decade. While subsidies for organic farmers in Croatia are on average 30 percent higher than for regular farmers -- 3,000 kunas (400 euros, 530 dollars) per hectare -- when fees for organic certificates are paid the difference vanishes. At the same time subsidies for conventional products are rather high, discouraging organic production which is far more demanding as it requires more knowledge and yields results after a longer period of time. Organic agriculture started to develop here more significantly since 2001, after new legislation and the granting of subsidies. But the country's organic farming potential is very promising. Because farmers lacked the financial means to invest in equipment for intensive farming, which relies on chemical fertilizers and pesticides, the soil is generally quite pure, making it more suitable for organic farming. There are also large areas mined during the 1991-1995 independence war where the soil has not been used for many years. Producers and experts believe that in the future Croatia should focus on supplying the local market with organic products notably because the number of foreign tourists looking for local and healthy food is growing. "Croatia has the image of a country with intact nature and natural agriculture products. These are strong messages on which we should insist," Karoglan-Todorovic stressed. Croatia's glittering Adriatic Sea coast, which features more than 1,000 islands, attracts more 10 than million tourists each year. Sever echoes such a view. "Tourism should be the best market for our products. We have three climates -- continental, Mediterranean and mountain -- which allow us to cultivate different crops."