Prime Minister Ana Brnabic opened the Agricultural Fair in Novi Sad, which is being held online for the first time this year due to the coronavirus epidemic, saying that investments in agriculture will continue, in order to further strengthen and develop agriculture and the food industry.
In her online address, Ana Brnabic pointed out that 2020 showed the best importance of agriculture and the food industry so far.
“I am proud that Serbia was one of the few countries that at the beginning of the pandemic was a country that did not have shortages of food and food products at any time,” said Brnabic.
That is why the Prime Minister thanked all agricultural producers and the food industry, which, she says, were ready and managed to show toughness and resilience despite such circumstances.
She stated that Serbia not only did not have food shortages, but on the contrary, it was able to help others, who were in short supply at that time.
“This serves as a further incentive for us to invest even more in agriculture and to start more strongly in the transformation from a country that exports agricultural products and raw materials to a country that exports food, products with added value,” said the Prime Minister.
That is why, she says, in the mandate of this Government, the food industry was transferred from the competence of the department of the Ministry of Economy to the department of agriculture, forestry and water management.
She pointed out that she is sure that the concrete results of that move will be seen as early as 2021, that is, that it will be seen that agriculture and the food industry provide new, additional value for the overall economic growth of Serbia.
“Count on the support of the Government of Serbia. We continue to invest. Agriculture is one of the most important components of our development plan ‘Serbia 2025’, to continue to strengthen and further develop agriculture and the food industry,” Brnabic said.
The Prime Minister congratulated the organizers that the fair, despite the epidemic, is still organized online, with the participation of more than 130 producers from eight countries who will offer products and services in the field of agriculture. This year, the partner country is the Czech Republic.
The Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Serbia, Tomas Kuhta, pointed out that the foreign trade exchange in the agricultural sector between the two countries has been growing in recent years, not only in the export of Czech products to Serbia, but also products from Serbia to the Czech Republic.
In an online address, Kuhta stated that the total exchange last year reached 36.7 million euros, of which exports from the Czech Republic to Serbia were 20.6 million, and exports from Serbia to the Czech Republic 16.1 million euros.
He stated that in the first nine months of this year, there was an increase in mutual trade, six percent from the Czech Republic to Serbia and as much as 26 percent from Serbia to the Czech Republic.
Fair events, such as the Agricultural Fair in Novi Sad and a similar fair in the Czech Republic, also contribute to the further growth and improvement of cooperation.
“We are aware of the importance of this fair and Czech companies traditionally participate in it, and we believe that it will be held in the traditional form next year,” Kuhta said.
He pointed out that the Czech Republic has always considered Serbia as its close friend, not only from the business side, but also because they are united by history, long partnerships and mutual cooperation in many areas.
Milorad Radojevic, a member of the City Council of Novi Sad for the economy, points out that the fair industry also suffered great damage due to the pandemic, which is of great importance for the economy of one country, for companies, but also for the host city.
He said that the Agricultural Fair has been one of the most important events in Novi Sad for years, which brings together, he says, all the most valuable things in agriculture, where the latest trends are pointed out and where the most important companies exhibit.
Provincial Secretary for Agriculture Cedomir Bozic said that the future of agriculture lies in digitalization, and added that in cooperation with the Biosens Institute, a digital platform Agrosens was created, which provides support to farmers in monitoring crop growth and an action plan.
“It is an important step in increasing the efficiency and competitiveness of domestic producers,” Bozic said.
The General Manager of the Novi Sad Fair, Slobodan Cvetkovic, expressed satisfaction that this year’s event, despite the pandemic, has retained its international character, since companies from the Czech Republic, Hungary, Croatia, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands are participating.
“This is a good pilot project, it shows that we will be able to continue to operate in this format, but after the pandemic we will return to organizing the fair as in previous years,” said Cvetkovic.
At the National Livestock Exhibition, within the Fair, more than 150 head of cattle, horses, sheep and pigs will be presented, which is exhibited by more than 30 breeders from Serbia.
The same number of companies and individual manufacturers will present their products and services for which they received championship cups at the “Best in 2020” quality assessment, RTS reports.
