The IFAJ annual congress 2026. will be held in Croatia from September 16 – 20 this year. The town of Osijek will be the host, the largest city in the eastern part of the country (Slavonia and Baranja), and the administrative centre of Osijek-Baranja County.
Located between four capitals, Zagreb (Croatia), Belgrade (Serbia), Budapest (Hungary), and Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina), with a population of 100.000 citizens, Osijek is Croatia’s food production centre.
Characterised by its vast, fertile plains and favourable continental climate, the Osijek-Baranja County is widely regarded as Croatia’s agricultural powerhouse. As a leading national producer of strategic crops, the region accounts for a significant share of national yields of wheat, corn, sunflower, and sugar beet. In addition to large-scale farming, the region hosts an advanced livestock sector and preeminent viticulture, exemplified by the Graševina (Welschriesling) cultivar, which has achieved global recognition for oenological excellence.
Slavonia and Baranja
Geographically, Slavonia and Baranja lie at the northeastern tip of Croatia, nestled in the heart of the Pannonian Basin.
The region is defined by its major rivers: the Drava to the north (separating it from Hungary), the Danube to the east (bordering Serbia), and the Sava to the south (bordering Bosnia and Herzegovina). While the area is famous for its vast, golden plains, it is not entirely flat; the landscape is punctuated by “island mountains” like Papuk and Psunj, which rise sharply from the lowlands, and by the Drava-Danube loess plateaus, which create ideal conditions for viticulture.
The Five Counties of Slavonia and Baranja
- Osijek-Baranja County: The largest, centred in Osijek. It encompasses the entire Baranja region (north of the Drava) and a large portion of eastern Slavonia, serving as the area’s logistics and education hub.
- Vukovar-Srijem County lies at the eastern edge, with its headquarters in Vukovar. It includes the historic Srijem (Syrmia) region and a key port on the Danube River.
- Virovitica-Podravina County lies in the northwest along the Drava River, centred in Virovitica. It serves as the gateway between Slavonia and the Podravina region.
- Brod-Posavina County: A long, narrow county stretching along the Sava river border, centred in Slavonski Brod. It is a vital transit corridor connecting Western Europe to the Balkans.
- Požega-Slavonia County nestles uniquely between the Papuk and Psunj mountains, with Požega as its centre. It’s renowned for the Golden Valley (Vallis Aurea), a historic Roman vineyard.
Pannonian valley
The Pannonian Basin is a vast sedimentary lowland in Central Europe, encircled by the Alps, the Carpathians, and the Dinarides. This unique “bowl-shaped” geography, enriched by loess deposits and the alluvial sediments of the Danube, Drava, and Sava rivers, has created some of the world’s most fertile soils. Often called the “Breadbasket of Europe,” it is an agricultural powerhouse, particularly for large-scale cereal and oilseed production, thanks to its flat terrain and continental climate.
Historically, the region was characterised by extensive marshes and wetlands until massive drainage projects in the 19th century transformed it into the cultivated landscape seen today. Spanning across Hungary, Croatia (Slavonia and Baranja), Serbia (Vojvodina), western parts of Romania, southern lowlands of Slovakia, eastern regions of Austria (Burgenland), northern part of Slovenia (Prekomurje), and the extreme southwest of Ukraine (Transcarpathian Lowland)
The IFAJ congress will feature pre- and post-tours exploring different regions of Croatia.
Participants can join an exclusive pre-tour in historic Varaždin and post-congress excursions to coastal Zadar and scenic Istria, blending culture, history, and nature.
