There are many challenges faced by small scale family farmers. In this region, smallscale farmers have difficulty accessing markets, and when they do they lack competitiveness on the European markets. These farms are less resilient to floods and droughts, hence there is a need to strengthen the adaptive capacity of...

CEEweb together with Young Researchers of Serbia, Eko-Centar, Juniperia, Daphne – Institute of Applied Ecology and Naturalists Club Poland have launched a project on experience sharing and capacity building in small-scale farming. The project “Empower the powerless: Visegrad experience for small-scale family farms in the Western Balkans” aims to place...

Eighteen months after floods washed away the livelihoods of thousands of farm households, Serbian agriculture is getting back on track – thanks to help from the European Union and FAO. A second phase of assistance for central and western Serbia started in the summer and is now close to completion. More...

The 14th Agricultural Policy Forum (APF) “Promoting Sustainable Rural Development through Agriculture in South Eastern Europe was held in Kopaonik, Serbia in the period of 14th – 17th October 2014. This Forum provided an opportunity to review the accomplishments achieved by the APF process over the past period, while considering...

Since the beginning of the 2000s, Serbia has been going through profound economic and institutional shifts, with significant consequences for structural changes in the agricultural sector, its output and productivity, as well as agricultural policy. By the early 1980s Serbia had experienced significant growth in agricultural production, which stagnated in the...

Serbia is still a mainly rural country. 65% of its national territory is in farmland, a further 30% in forestry. Of its 7.2 million people, 58% live in rural areas, and about two thirds of these rely wholly or partly on agriculture or forestry for their livelihood. These industries produce...

The South-eastern European region (SEE) has made substantial progress towards stability, economic reforms, and European integration, which is one of the overriding political and economic challenges in the region. At the Zagreb Summit in November 2000, leaders from the European Union (EU) and the SEE countries confirmed their full commitment...

This report, and the events recorded in it, focus upon seven countries which are at various stages of active or potential candidature to join the European Union. Six of the countries are in the Western Balkans – Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo*, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro and...

The International Year of Family Farming (IYFF) has uncovered well-grounded resolve to place family farmers as protagonists in addressing a number of challenges we face, from eradicating hunger and poverty to conserving natural resources. Nothing comes closer to the sustainable food production paradigm than family farming. The diverse set of...

Livestock production is the most important agricultural branch in terms of value, in Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia & Macedonia

The EBRD and FAO are working together to introduce geographical indication status for a range of food products in Serbia, beginning with the local sour cherry. This project is also supported by Luxembourg.

This Industry Study reviews the current status of organic agriculture in Serbia and examines the sector in the context of historical developments, future challenges and opportunities. The first steps in organic production development were taken back in 1990, when NGO Terra’s established a promotional network of producers, farmers, advisors and...

The aim of the study was to gain a better understanding of the consumption and perception of processed fruits in Western Balkan countries in order to support consumer-oriented product development. In-depth interviews (n ¼ 183) were used to explore the consumption of processed fruits, the motives to consume such fruits...

Two dairy production systems with biggest share in total milk production in Central Serbia are small farms with tie stall barn and small farms with grazing period. In the article are examined their main system characteristics, sustainability and integration in dairy supply chain. Three dimension of sustainability were explored by...

This paper analyses the present state of sheep farming in Serbia and provide guidance for sustainable development in the future. It also discusses the challenges of the modern age that may affect the viability of sheep production. Today in Serbia grows less than 1.5 million sheep. In terms of breed...

The concept of HNV farmland is a novelty for the South Eastern Europe (SEE) countries. But even in the absence of detailed studies it is clear that the generally very extensive character of agriculture in these countries suggests that there are large areas of HNV farmland in a variety of...

The Western Balkan countries are all in a process of accession to the European Union. Croatia, Macedonia and Montenegro have the status of candidate countries. Albania, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo under UNSCR 1244/99 are potential candidate countries, with the prospect of joining the EU when they meet the...

Agriculture can be qualified as a specific sector that represents an important part in implementing strategic vision of the Serbian economy's development. The reason for this is that over the past decades the accumulation that other sectors cannot provide has been drawn from this sector and that the great potential...

Agriculture remains an important means of alleviating poverty, but shortage of finance can constrain its development. At the same time, agriculture is evolving towards a global system requiring high-quality, comptetitive products, and is organized in value chains which often exclude smallholders. Value chain financing in agriculture offers an opportunity to...

The hilly-mountain area of Serbia is considered to be of a great ecological and socioeconomically value. The traditional agriculture practice, which is still in use in Serbia, seems to be outdated. This is why it is almost impossible to stop the migration process, so the population started leaving the farms...