Back 100 years of Institute Managment Departments Staff

Popularizing the science of agriculture in the Dalmatianregion during the second half of the 18th century was exercising by Venice by way of "academies" that propagated particularly economic activities. In 1767 is established the first academy in Split,the "Societa economica de Spalato", which in addition to agriculture practised the professions of handicraft, trade and fishery. In Zadar in 1787 is founded the "Accademia economico-letteraria di Zara",a similar academy with agriculture as its basic economic activity which into its program included the field of literature, and in Kastel-Luksic in 1788 is established yet another economics academy.

In its report, the Venetian economics council stressed that the academy in Split was successful with a variety of agricultural experiments, advancing in processing leather, processing salted and dried fish, and that it introduced better mills for olives, expanded potato growth and more. A significant contribution to spreading agricultural knowledge was made by the writers of that period who gathered around the academies to write about agriculture. The academies, more or less, have supported their work. The results of their work are manifested in a very rich publishing activity which, regardless of the sparing framework of the printing of the period, has practically embraced the whole problematic sphere: from the olive industry and oil production, viticulture - wine-selling, apiculture, grain growth, cultivation of meadows and other economic means.

The period between 1824 and 1868, the second time the Austrian government ruled the region, was marked by private initiatives of individuals, as is evident in the establishing of a line of "economic societies" across Croatia. In such a way the enlightened part of the Dalmatian population attempted to enhance agriculture as its fundamental economic activity.

In Vienna in 1868 was founded a Ministry of Agriculture, and in 1869 was named the first regional agricultural superintendent (Giovanni Arduino). Organization and enhancement of agricultural production was left to regional leaders whose duties were realized by issuing reports on the status of agriculture to the agricultural superintendent. Furthermore they supervised the usage of resources intended for aiding individual production groups and organized the work of agriculture teachers. In the period between 1870 and 1941 the Dalmatian agriculture directorship position has been awarded to and occupied by 12 persons, each serving his or her term separately, and amongst whom the heaviest trails were laid down by Zotti and Ozanic with their practical publishing work. In 1874 was named the first agriculture teacher (Rikard Antunovic). The service of agricultural teachers slowly developed so that by 1895 there were six agricultural teachers in the Dalmatian region, setting the foundation for an organized agricultural service.

Initial agricultural services and organized agricultural enlightment and schooling, in the second half of the 19th century, occurred under the conditions of awakened national consciousness and tendencies for uplifting the Dalmatian economy, where agriculture had a leading place. In the Dalmatian agricultural production this period marked significant happenings in viticulture. In the 50s, due to the oidium infestation in Italy and France, the Dalmatian viticulture experienced its first great trade prosperity. All available quantities of wine were exported to Italy and priced highly. This was the period of a sudden growth in the number of vineyards and viticultural production. However, the conjuncture only lasted ten years and the Italian viticulturists had found a cure against oidium. T make matters worse the oidium showed its face in Dalmatia. In the middle of the second half of the century the Dalmatian agriculture, mainly viticulture, stretches to significant dimensions with an accent on increased exporting . A formed agricultural administration, expert services, beginning of education and a fortified economy create the conditions and make their request that for the Dalmatian region be established a scientific agricultural institution that would be concerned with scientific questions in regards to agricultural development of this region. In agreement to such a valid request, regarding the institution, the Ministry of Agriculture in Vienna with its decree of July 1, 1894 established the C.K. CHEMICAL - ECONOMIC TESTING INSTITUTE IN SPLIT. On July 15th in 1895., the institutereceived its first Statute.

The establishment of the institute as a scientific analytical-controlled and an educative institution had a great significance for agriculture. Its founding represented the first step towards organization in scientific and research work in agriculture in Croatia.
The institute was placed in the rooms of a telegraph office in the today Marmontova street. The rooms have been adapted to the needs of the institute many times, and with an adaptation in 1896 they were divided into two parts according to their intended service. In the first part was settled a laboratory with necessary equipment for research and control work, the other chamber was fixed as an agricultural museum with a variety of mechanisms, instruments, models and collections. In this frame work was found an auditorium were from time to time were held lectures. The institute in its possession had a library of 4 000 books in the field and was receiving 50 magazines. That same year the inventory supply reached the value of 23 826 forints.

In the first years of functioning the work of the institute was mostly taking place in the laboratory. Field research, with the cooperation from the Regional Supervision for agriculture and a cooperation from the agriculture teachers service, was done on private lands across Dalmatia and state owned fruit and grape nurseries.

Such work , despite acceptable initial results, could not satisfy all the demands that were placed on the institute in the Statute from 1895. At the same time, after the closing of the agricultural school in Gruz, reoccurred the problem of agricultural education. For those reasons, according to the words of the institutes director of that period (engineer I. Slaus-Kantaschieder), "work started on establishing a new agricultural school which would with theoretical and practical teaching perform a variety of tests of economic nature, and it became evident that this school would be incomplete and not accommodate the needs of the region without the unification with the already existing Chemical Testing Institute that would serve that purpose of filling the gap. This unification created a close bond between the school activities and the Institute under the leadership of the same director, and that means a single and constant direction for all activities".

On the 8th of October was established a school in the framework of the Institute which by the Statute of the same year was named C.K. AGRICULTURAL SCHOOL AND TEST CANTER IN SPLIT. To accommodate the needs of the new establishment was erected a large new three story building in 1907 in Split's present day Frankopanska 11 street.

The task of the establishment is confirmed by the new Statute on 8th of October in 1905, which reads: This is how, envisioned and with given conditions at the beginning of the century in Dalmatia, was created a modern complex for scientific research and a learning canter capable of executing significant influence on the development of economy of this region.

With analytical work on quality control of food products, (primarily wine and oil) kept were statistics on the components and quality of wine. Experimental work was carried out concerning problems and production needs. This is the period of sudden decline of wine growing due to phylloxera, but also an intense period of renewal of Dalmatian wine growing on American foundations, which is best illustrated by the fact that in the period between 1905 and 1910 was out up 15 000 acres of vineyards. It is actually the activity of that canter that helped a first vineyard regeneration to occur in Dalmatia in a relatively short time. In the wine business the quality of Dalmatian wines and technological procedure of wine processing was tested.

In the olive growing started was a research on olive sorts, agrotechnics in the olive groves, and special attention was given to the production of olive oil. At the same time an intense work was started in researching artificial fertilizer and the efficiency in adapting it to different cultures. Pioneer work was started in researching important diseases and pests of culture plants and their eradication. First chemical analysis of the ground were performed. Significant attention was paid to researching the possibility of introducing new pasture plants, sunflowers, alfalfa, etc.

Along with experimental work, work on agricultural education in Split was carried out with practical exercises in Glavica-Knin, an affiliate.

With the activities of the canter and a well organized service that accommodated the conditions of the time, in a short time of 20 years the Dalmatian agriculture had significantly moved ahead. To the success of the Institute and the development of agriculture in Dalmatia contributed the government in Vienna with significant financial donations whose intensions were to develop Dalmatian economy.

With the creation of the new state of Jugoslavia the canter received a hard blow. The official regulation of 19.12.1918 took away the building from the agricultural department in Split and gave it first to the Trade and later the Technical school. The agricultural school with its inventory was transferred to Glavica by Knin, while for experimental and laboratory activity they were left a tight room in the former building. Testing grounds around the building were first decreased because of the building of an exhibition pavilion, and later because of the building of a high school and other needs.

Neglecting the importance of agricultural research the work of this institution ended up in the framework of the control service. Scientifically experimental work was rendered impossible with the motivation that in Dalmatia research is not needed, and that the results of other institutions in Yugoslavia should be applied. The incorrectness and damage of that stand is not necessary to point out because a whole line of unsolved problems, that the institutes of this region could not nor wish to solve, confirm that.

In 1922 a law concerning research and control stations came out in the Kingdom of Serbia-Croatia-Slovenia.. This law established stations in Topcider, Osijek, Zagreb, Maribor, and Ljubljana. The Institute in Split was not mentioned because no one kept an eye on it.

Such underestimations of the oldest agricultural scientific institute, in Yugoslavia of that time, were not just a reflection of ignorance concerning the specificity of agriculture in the Adriatic region, but a reflection of the political orientation of the central government in Belgrade that systematically neglected the economy in the coastal regions. Only after sharp protests from Dalmatia, the Ministry of Agriculture in 1925 makes a rule by which is established AGRICULTURAL OBSERVATION AND CONTROL STATION, in place of the former Agricultural school and chemical institute.

The decision of the Ministry of Agriculture on 7. May 1925 (# 16275/II) changes the name of the Agricultural school and the testing station becomes AGRICULTURAL OBSERVATION AND CONTROL STATION. With the reorganization of the former establishment that had functioned as an agrochemical and enological institute, within the frame of the law on observation and control stations, founded are other departments: entomological (1925), phytopathological (1929), agrobotanical (1930) and pedological (1929).

The New Station took over the control of food provisions from the former institution (especially wine and alcohol products and the control of different industrial products. It performed this function until the founding of the PUBLIC HEALTH INSTITUTE in Split in 1930.

The activity of wine control is coordinated with the new wine law, and the territory of its authority was widened from Primorska to Zetska and Drinska province.

As production of insect powder became interesting, on the street Nikola Tesla 8 in 1933 was built a special building with a laboratory for researching insect powder.

With the development of the stations scientific research, in 1939 approval was granted for an erection of the new building. The project was drawn up by the eng. Marko Markovina. Unfortunately the upcoming war handicapped the realization of that project.

In the second world war the institution managed to stay afloat under the name STAZIONE AGRARIA ED ENOLOGICA. Its activity was mainly laboratory work. From 1944 to 1946 the institution functioned under the name DISTRICT ECONOMICS STATION, and later under the name REGIONAL AGRICULTURE STATION.

After the 2nd world war and after overcoming the first hardships the station started to focus more on its initial tasks, it reinforced itself with expert and scientific staff, regrouped and spread into Kastel Stari with its objects for olive growing and fruit farming, while in Kastel Luksic it went ahead with viticulture and vegetable farming. At this time was accepted that the Adriatic coastal region with its ecological characteristics was significantly different from the remaining parts of the country, and as a result the problems of agricultural production are specific and demand individual research and answers. Besides that, this region with a surface area of 30 000 square kilometres in its entirety lies connected to the Adriatic rocky terrain, which with its phenomenon gives a main description to the agriculture and forestry of this region.

The regional agricultural station in Split, with respect to long tradition, had indispensable conditions to take over that role, so the government FNRJ on 30.8. 1948 came up with a resolution that founded the FEDERAL SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH INSTITUTE FOR THE ADRIATIC CULTURES.

Giving the Institute a federal character was an intent to tie the scientific research and the advisory activity of agriculture in the Adriatic region .

Research was done according to a single program for the whole region. After two years of functioning under the federal guidance the authorization over the INSTITUTE is taken over by NR Croatia in 1950. In that period, from the Institute, pulled out the institutions in Fazana, Bar, Kastel Stari (1952), and finally the institution in Dubrovnik (1954). After that all scientific research institutions in NR Croatia switched from a budget system to a self financing system. That was a hard period because the institute had to secure the means of survival by doing favours for a variety of economic organizations.

Despite unfavourable circumstances for the scientific research, cooperation with the field was very influential so that in the agricultural production there was not one project that the INSTITUTE was not involved in. In such hard conditions it was impossible to invest in contemporary equipment or pay great attention to the educational aspect and the improvement of the staff.

With the establishment of the Advisory board for the scientific work in 1959 came acceptable conditions for scientific research. Although the intended means for that purpose were modest the existing objects were enlarged and new research had started on the objects of the INSTITUTE in Kastela and Duilovo. The resolution of the National committee -district in Split-(06-11 206/1) on 27.9.1960 returned the earlier detached institutes for olive growing and fruit farming in Kastel Stari to the INSTITUTE. By the resolution of the Executive council of the parliament of NR CROATIA (03/3-21286/1-330) dating 1.11.1962 the institute for forestry and hunting research of NR Croatia is rearranged so that the forestry testing institute in Split is attached to the INSTITUTE. The forestry problematic of the Adriatic region and the improvement of forest surfaces on rocky terrain had fallen under the authorization of the INSTITUTE.

Because of the mentioned reasons or increase in the activity concerning erosion and improvement, the district Assembly in Split brought a decision 03-12367 on 24.8. 1964 concerning the change in the name of the INSTITUTE to : INSTITUTE FOR ADRIATIC CULTURES AND THE IMPROVEMENT OF ROCKY TERRAIN.

In `1964 on location in Duilovo-Split a new office building was erected providing an adequate 2500 square meters for laboratory and other types of activity.

The work of the INSTITUTE in that period was done through organizational unit-d epartments.

The INSTITUTE on its developmental path, in a variety of forms and intensity had nurtured the educational activity. Developing that activity it came to see the necessity of institutionalizing long term collaboration between the institute and the college of agricultural sciences (University in Zagreb), so on 11.11. 1977 a mutual agreement was signed concerning the establishment of CANTER FOR THE MEDITERRANEAN AGRICULTURAL STUDY.

The canter for the Mediterranean agricultural study represented an organized form of tieing the INSTITUTE to the Adriatic cultures and to the improvement of rocky terrain in Split to the College of agricultural sciences in Zagreb, whose participants realized a long term relationship and a mutual interest with the goal of satisfying educational needs and developing the scientific research in the agricultural sphere of the Mediterranean.

The signers, concerning mutual activities in the work of the Canter, used the following organizational forms: