Following tips about possible incidents during farmers' ongoing protests, police are guarding Jakovina's house in Bukovlje, a local police spokeswoman told Hina, stressing the minister had received no threats.

Asked on Croatian Television if he expected farmers to block roads with tractors for long, Jakovina said he did not, as information from 4 pm indicated that there were about 300 protesting farmers with about 400 tractors.

He said they were a tiny minority pressuring the government with "unrealistic demands", which he said would not succeed.

Asked if farmers' demands were justified and if they would be paid the remainder of the state aid, the minister said the situation in agriculture was very tough because of ten years of poor policies without reforms.

Jakovina said farmers knew when the 2013 budget was adopted that they would have HRK 2.45 billion at their disposal, which he said was paid in the first half of the year.

He said additional demands were unrealistic. "Compared to last year, the aid is about 7.5 per cent lower, but it was paid much sooner and transparently. And that's that."

The minister said farmers had the right to protest but not to block roads, threaten and blackmail. "That's not how we will communicate and this government has said very clearly how it sees the development of Croatia's agriculture and family-run farms."

Asked if Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic would take part in the negotiations with the disgruntled farmers, as demanded by them, Jakovina said he was the minister of agriculture and that he represented the government in thee negotiations.

Asked if state aid was being abused, Jakovina said control was much tighter than in the past. "We have to create a more competitive output and produce more, more competitively and cheaply, and not think that the aid is an incentive and a salary. It's not a salary in agriculture, just income aid."