The Fund at the 86th International Agricultural Fair

At the moment, the European Affairs Fund of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina is implementing as 13 projects, and visitors to the 86th International Agricultural Fair in Novi Sad could learn more about three projects dealing with important agricultural topics. These are the following projects: “Exploitation of Different Energy Sources for Green Energy Production – XDEGREE”, “Agriculture innovation towards growth and employment in cross-border region – AGRINNO” and “Competitive sustainability of agricultural enterprises through the development of new products with added value based on alternative plant species – CORNUCOPIA”.

The round table within the “Agriculture innovation towards growth and employment in cross-border region – AGRINNO” project was one of the more visited events on 15th May. The round table was attended by Vuk Radojević PhD, Provincial Secretary for Agriculture, Water Management and Forestry, Svetlana Belešević Tubić PhD, Director of the Institute of Field and Vegetable Crops, and Vidosava Enderić, Director of the European Affairs Fund of the AP Vojvodina.

Vuk Radojević PhD summarized the activities which had been accomplished successfully so far within the AGRINNO project and announced the remaining activities to be completed by the end of the project, such as seminars in Hungary and the installation of modern greenhouses in three secondary schools in Futog, Ruma and Vršac.  The AGRINNO projects is planned to end in November 2019.

Vidosava Enderić, Director of the European Affairs Fund of AP Vojvodina, emphasized that the project main goal was to acquire knowledge, but also its sustainability. Education in rural population, with the application of modern production, contributes to increase in production in their own garden, and thus, to the growth of living standards. She also highlighted one of the roles of the Fund, which is the tendency to get closer and use as many grants as possible under the EU programmes available to us. A good example is the fact that the Fund is currently implementing 14 EU projects.

Svetlana Belešević Tubić, PhD, Director of the Institute of Field and Vegetable Crops, pointed out that “in order for a sustainable Serbian economy to function, it is necessary for the economy to be based on knowledge and innovation”. In addition to developing varieties and hybrids for users, the Institute’s mission was to educate and transfer knowledge in the field of technology. The Institute wants to show that it is necessary to maintain production especially when it comes to vegetable production, which is the biggest benefit of the AGRINNO project, i.e. opportunities for young people to stay in the countryside, produce and live well.

The round table, which was well visited, was also attended by partners from Hungary from Csongrád County, representatives of agricultural schools and incubators, who were, among other things, founded through the AGRINNO project, as well as a number of other guests.

The second large project activity of the Fund implemented at the International Agricultural Fair was the presentation of the results of the project “Exploitation of Different Energy Sources for Green Energy Production – XDEGREE”, focusing on the presentation of the analytical study “The potential and practical application of renewable energy sources in public utility companies”.

Prof. Filip Kulić PhD, Project Manager, said that the analysis of the quality of raw materials from which biogas was produced was left to be done and that a formula for replenishing digesters for biogas production in Sombor was to be created. He explained that after the completion of the project, the new energy production capacities were expected to be higher to a considerable extent. He added that the main idea was for such plants to be built on farms where there was animal and plant production and that the industries in urban areas were problematic because there were no laws that would force people to deal with waste separation.

The third large project activity was within the framework of the “Competitive sustainability of agricultural enterprises through the development of new products with added value based on alternative plant species – CORNUCOPIA” project. It was organized as an exchange of researchers from Serbia and Hungary.

The “Competitive sustainability of agricultural enterprises through the development of new products with added value based on alternative plant species – CORNUCOPIA” project is co-financed under INTERREG IPA CBC Hungary-Serbia and it has entered the second phase of its implementation.

About him at the 86th International Agricultural Fair was Dr Dragana Latkovic, professor of Agricultural Faculty in Novi Sad, the scientific institution where the idea for the project was born. “The focus of the” Cornucopia “project is an alternative plant species, and we have used a fair day and we went out of our laboratories and amphitheatre with the desire to affirm their cultivation in this way and point to the numerous products that are obtained from them. With our partners from the neighbourhood, there are also manufacturers and entrepreneurs from Hungary, and we will be happy to connect them with our businessmen, “says Dr Latković.

It was presented by Dragana Latković, PhD, professor of the Faculty of Agriculture in Novi Sad, scientific institution where the idea for the project was initiate, at the 86th International Agricultural Fair. “The focus of the CORNUCOPIA project is alternative plant species. We have taken advantage of one day at the Fair to leave our labs and amphitheatres wishing to promote their cultivation in this way, as well and to point out a number of products based on them. In addition to our neighbouring partners, there are producers and entrepreneurs from Hungary, and we will be happy to connect them with our businessmen,” says Latković PhD.

The XDEGREE and AGRINNO project had their booths, which were attended by experts in all fields during the 86th International Agricultural Fair, and these visits will surely result in some new project ideas.