With the accession of the Republic of Croatia to the European Union, the provisions and rules for payment of state aid to agriculture and rural development under the EU Funding Regulations were adopted. The competent state aid authority for agriculture and rural development in the Republic of Croatia is the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Rural Development. The European Commission monitors and controls the state aid process of all EU member states. State aid to agriculture and rural development is granted at the national level, and at the level of local and regional self-government. The aim of state aid to agriculture and rural development is to improve the competitiveness of rural areas, its characteristics, productivity and socio-economic factors. Direct payments and supports for the rural development measures are regulated by EU Funding Regulations. Direct payments are defined as support for farmers' income. These payments are granted to farmers every year, and in the Republic of Croatia they include basic payment, redeployment payments, agricultural payments for climate and environment, payments for young farmers, small farmers program and production-related support. The Republic of Croatia's rural development program for the period 2014-2020 was approved by the European Commission. The aim is to increase the competitiveness of agriculture, forestry, processing industry and increase the standard of rural areas in the Republic of Croatia. The rural development program contains 20 measures, which prescribe sub-measures and operations, as well as the conditions that farmers have to meet in order to become beneficiaries of the mentioned measures.