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CONFERENCE and WORKSHOP

“Empower the powerless - looking for opportunities to support

small-scale farmers in Serbia”

10-11th of March 2016, Belgrade, Serbia

REPORT

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Introduction and Foreword

CEEweb for Biodiversity, as a network of NGOs working on biodiversity policies in Central and Eastern European countries for the past 20 years, has been involved in regional projects on agriculture and rural development for more than a decade. Apart from revising the implementation of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and its environmental impact in the region, CEEweb also carried out projects with its non-EU members, which have to a great extent been targeted at making small-scale family farmers and their related farming systems viable. The latest of these projects aimed to transfer know-how and good practices from the Visegrad countries to the small-scale farmers of Serbia.

Funded by the International Visegrad Fund, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea and the European Commission, the project comprised a number of conferences, training events and fieldtrips. It was carried out in close partnership with CEEweb´s Serbian members and partners, the Young Researchers of Serbia and EkoCentar, as well as with partners from the Visegrad countries: Juniperia from Czech Republic, Daphne from Slovakia and Naturalist Club from Poland.

The latest of the project activities was a conference and workshop event at the Guarnerius Art Center and Belgrade, Serbia, on the 10th and 11th of March 2016. The aim of the conference was to stimulate dialogue among different stakeholders on challenges and opportunities for small-scale family farms in Serbia and to present the overall project results, outcomes and good practice examples from Visegrad and neighbouring EU countries. The conference gathered 71 participants from individual small-scale family farmers to industry representatives, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), donors and state authorities. A full list of participants can be found in Annex 1 of this report. The conference was structured around six main parts: an introduction by the organisers, keynote speeches by representatives from the Ministry of Agriculture and Environmental Protection and the Serbian Chamber of Commerce, a presentation of the findings from the overall project, presentations of good practices from the Visegrad and neighbouring EU countries and a panel discussion. The workshop centred around two parallel group discussions on: legislation; donors; education and information; and partnership and cooperation.

Acknowledgements

We are extremely grateful to our donors: the International Visegrad Fund, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea and the European Commission, who sponsored the event. A warm thank you must go to the presenters and panel speakers for sharing their invaluable knowledge and experience at the event, and to all participants.

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Day 1 – 10th of March

The first day of the conference was dedicated to presenting results of the project, showcasing experiences from other countries, sharing donor’s opinions and activities and discussing about needs and potentials of small-scale family farms in Serbia.

Session I Welcome by the organisers

Welcome speeches were given by Tanja Petrovic – executive director of Young Researchers of Serbia, Dejan Zagorac – president of EkoCentar and Agnes Zolyomi – secretary general of CEEweb for Biodiversity. Speakers emphasized the importance of cooperation among different sectors, the values of knowledge transfer and the willingness of civil society to stimulate dialogue and to look for further cooperation opportunities.

Session II Keynote speech The keynote speakers for the second session of the conference were Mr. Dragan Mirkovic from the Serbian Ministry of Agriculture and Environmental Protection and Mr. Nenad Budimovic from the Serbian Chamber of Commerce (link to presentation). Key note speeches were highly stimulating and interesting for the audience and were followed by a number of questions from the Serbian small-scale family farmers. Of special interest was the speech of Mr. Mirkovic as he informed participants about a number of activities that the Ministry is currently carrying out in order to support small-scale family farms in Serbia. Mrs. SUN Ju Yearn from the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Serbia also participated in the conference. Mrs. SUN Ju Yearn did not officially address the conference but she has actively talked with the participants and congratulated organisers for the event.

Figure 1. Participants during the welcoming session

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After the key note speeches, small-scale farmers who brought local food products for exhibition during lunch briefly presented. The following family farms and associations of farmers and producers were present: goat milk and cheese production farm “Carpe diem”; bee keepers and producers of Tilia honey from Fruska Gora region; association “Leksovacki ajvar”; organic family farm Dolovac; goat farm from Jazak; cabbage family farm from Futog; association “Futoski kupus”; women association “Ruza” from Lebane – production of ajvar, marmalade, tomatoes sauce and other typical products. During the lunch break all participants at the conference had the opportunity to taste local products and talk to producers. Farmers saw added value in the opportunity to present their own products at the conference and they appreciated the experience exchange and opinions from foreign experts. Session III Findings from the International Visegrad Fund project “Empower the powerless” Tijana Ljubenovic from Young Researchers of Serbia (see presentation) and Dejan Zagorac from EkoCentar presented on the project activities and results. They summarized the result of each project activity, from the launching conference in Szeged to the training sessions in Serbia and the fieldtrip in Slovakia and the Czech Republic. “Empower the powerless” has provided valuable know-how for small-scale family farmers. Not only that they were trained on how to become viable and competitive, but they also had the chance to witness first-hand success stories and learnt from other farmers about their experience. The two presenters stressed the importance of continuing the activities now that the project is over and the fact that this event was a great opportunity to decide on a way forward.

Figure 2. Mr. Mirkovic of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environmental Protection (left) and Mr. Budimovic of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce (right) holding their keynote

speeches and answering questions during the first day of the conference

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Session IV Making small-scale farming financially feasible. Case studies from Visegrad and neighbouring EU states. This session was evaluated as very useful for participants since all the cases presented are stimulating and educative for Serbian farmers and organizations. The following cases were presented:

Making small-scale farming financially feasible in Târnava Mare, Romania. Nat Page, Fundaţia ADEPT (link to presentation)

Sustaining small-scale farming through community supported agriculture schemes, Hungary. Peter Kajner, Szovet-Alliance for the Living Tisza (link to presentation)

Income diversification through rural ecotourism for small-scale family farmers, Bulgaria. Mihaela Kircheva, Bulgarian Association for Alternative Tourism (link to presentation)

Measuring, monitoring and adapting to the demands of the small-scale farming sector, Czech Republic. Martin Strelec, JUNIPERIA (link to presentation)

Session V Financing small-scale farming in Serbia: donor’s perspectives The aim of donors’ session was to see what are the ongoing and future possibilities for small-scale farms in Serbia. Two speakers were presenting ongoing projects:

Nikola Djuric from the Federal German Enterprise – GIZ (link to presentation)

Branislav Milic, Rural and Regional Development Support to Serbia - NIRAS, a project funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation – SDC (link to presentation)

At the same time, some important funding opportunity for Serbian farmers in the form of the Instrument of Pre-Accession in Agriculture and Rural Development (IPARD) programme, was presented and explained on the beginning of the conference by Mr. Mirkovic from the Serbian Ministry of Agriculture and Environmental Protection. Mr. Mirkovic also explained the possibility for NGOs and famer associations to get involved in decision making processes related to planning and programming funding. This section was particularly useful because a lot of misunderstandings about funding were explained, small-scale farmers were accurately informed where and how to talk with projects managers. Likewise, details were given on how donors are programming big projects and how strict project activities and budget expenditures are. Mr. Djuric from GIZ welcomed shared experience from Visegrad and EU countries and said that some of the cases presented may be shared in ongoing GIZ project in Serbia.

Session VI What does Serbia need to boost small-scale farming?

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During the panel discussion very motivating speeches were given by Mr. Slobodan Simic – manager of spatial nature reserve Zasavica, Mr. Zeljko Sredic from Kosjeric (link to presentation) and Mr. Srdjan Nedeljkovic from Nedeljkovic family farm. Some of the conclusions of the panel discussion are that priorities for boosting small-scale family farms should be: diversification

of activities on farms; change in the way of farmers think (long-term, integrated thinking, based on association and cooperation); programmes to foster change in demography dynamics (less migration to the urban centres); better education; plans designed at family farm level and supported by the government. The panel discussion was the last session of the first conference day. The second day of the conference was more interactive as participants were working in two parallel groups, discussing different aspects of “Challenges and solutions for boosting small-scale farming in Serbia”.

Figure 3. Panel discussion was the last session of the first day

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Day 2 – 11th of March

The second day of the event was dedicated to running two interactive parallel workshops, in which small-scale farmers and other stakeholders to discuss on the challenges and opportunities for the small-scale farming sector in Serbia. The main topics brought into discussion in this regard were: donors; education and information; legislation; and partnership and cooperation.

Donors Some of the questions discussed were: Who can be the potential donors for small-scale family farms? What are the most appropriate ways of funding small farms (projects, subsidies, direct donations, credits)? What are the problems in fundraising and how to solve them? Education and information Some of the questions discussed were: what kind of capacity building programmes are needed? Who and in which form should provide capacity building? What are the most efficient resources of information for small-scale family farmers? Do you have a website and/or are you active on social media, etc.? Do you regularly visit some websites, social media pages, etc.? In which way should institutions provide information (e.g. Ministry of Agriculture and Environmental Protection)? Conclusions: potential donors are municipalities (agricultural funds), provincial and state institutions (Ministry of Agriculture and Environmental Protection, Ministry of Tourism, Ministry of Culture), international funds (IPARD, EU, NGOs, development agencies). Although there are over 25,000 associations in Serbia there are numerous problems: lack of interest for cooperation, lack of trust among farmers, insufficient education of farmers, need of trainings etc. One solution would be to establish farmer associations and to make farmers understand joint interests. There are educational events organized every year (e.g. winter schools) but more training is needed. Municipal agricultural services are recognized as the most appropriate

Figure 4. Participants discussing in groups during the workshop sessions

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information providers. Methods for information exchange should be chosen depending on the region, in most villages internet is not used. Discontinuity in networking is seen as a problem. Legislation Some of the questions discussed were: What are the problems in law implementation? Do farmers participate in the decision making processes (public consultations related to law, strategies etc)? What should be changed? Do EU policies have a significant and positive impact on Serbian legislation? Partnership and cooperation Some of the questions discussed were: Which institutions/organisations can be good partners? What are the preferred forms of partnership (official, unofficial, long-lasting, ad hoc)?

There are number of problems in law implementation (as

selective implementation); sub laws are implemented in a way that prioritize big influential groups (agricultural centres, big farms). Every year new rulebooks are produced and they are often not in line with previous regulations. This brings discontinuity and a lot of problems in planning among farmers. Legislation is either too

strict (e.g. when establishing wine production) or too paperwork demanding, with unclear procedures. The roots of problems are in lack of communication and contact between administration and farmers. Decision making is mostly done in Belgrade and local governments have limited possibility to influence the process. The Ministries should make more consultations with farmer associations and NGOs. EU policies do not bring a lot of benefits because EU directives are not efficiently transposed into the Serbian legislation and implementation is weak. The most important cooperation should be with the Ministry of Agriculture and other ministries. There is a

Figure 5. Partnership and cooperation was a topic of much debate during the workshop

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good cooperation with universities, with some municipalities, with the chamber of commerce etc. Legislation should be modified in a way that small-scale family farms become legal entities. At the moment they are forced to do lot activities and provide services on the black market and often even state institutions do not have answers on how the small-scale farms should operate. The workshop ended with a wrap-up/conclusion session and an overall evaluation of the event to be used for further planning.

ANNEX 1

List of Participants

Name Organization/Institution

Aleksandar Stepanić Poljoprivredno gazdinstvo i Mlekara Carpe Diem

Bojan Milovanović GM Optimist

Branka Gagić Privredna komora Srbije

Bratislav Poprašić Udruženje “Kruševački ekološki centar”

Dejan Zagorac Eko centar

Dijana Dijanović Regionalna privredna komora Zaječar

Đorđe Mrkić Društvo pčelara”Jovan Živanović” Novi Sad

Dragoslava Đokić Udruženje poslovnih žena Timočke krajine

Dušan R. Ivanović Ekološko društvo Dragačevo

Emina Milenović Seosko- turisticko domacinstvo

Gordana Brun Udruženje "Škola za opstanak"

Gorica Jovanović Seosko turisticko domacinstvo Jovanovic

Gospava Marković Poljoprivredno gazdinstvo Ćulum

Ivan Stanojević Grupa Kobra

Ivan Zafirović JP Direkcija za izgradnju i uređenje Pančeva

Jelena Bjegović Eko centar

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Jelena Marić Poljoprivredno gazdinstvo i Mlekara Carpe Diem

Jeroen Arends SEEDEV

Ljiljana Paušić Mojić farma koza i mlekara Jazak

Marija Luković Sredić Poljoprivredno turističko domaćinstvo Gostoljublje

Mihajlo Stanković Pokret gorana Sremska Mitrovica

Milan Badivuk Regionalna privredna komora Zaječar

Milenko Dolovac PG Dolovac

Milka Gvozdenović Mladi istraživači Srbije

Miodrag Čupić Društvo pčelara”Jovan Živanović” Novi Sad

Nenad Budimović Privredna komora Srbije

Nevena Stošić Udruženje žena RUŽA Lebane

Ognjen Delić Udruženje pčelara “Lipa”

Olgica Nestorović Udruženje “Zeleni Kopaonik”

Pavle Pavlovic Ekoloski pokret Ibar Kraljevo

Predrag Mišić Udruženja domaćina Tršić

Radomir Biočanin Akademik prof. dr

Udruženje „Kruševački ekološki centar”, Državni univerzitet u Novom Pazaru

Slavica Stevanetić Privredna komora Srbije

Slobodan Dimitrijević Grupa Kobra

Slobodan Simić Pokret gorana Sremska Mitrovica

Slobodanka Pavlović Udruženje žena RUŽA Lebane

Snežana Ognjenović Organska bašta

Srđan Nedeljković Poljoprivredno gazdinstvo Nedeljković

Stela Strsoglavec Educa Humana

Stevan Novaković Udruženja domaćina Tršić

SUN Ju Yearn Ambasada Republike Koreje u Srbiji

Tanja Petrović Mladi istraživači Srbije

Tatjana Beuk Pirušić Privredna komora Srbije

Tijana Ljubenović Mladi istraživači Srbije

Vesna Jogrić Turističko domaćinstvo "Seoska kuća"

Željko Sredić Udruženje Vesnik Kosjerić

Zoran Milenović Seosko- turisticko domacinstvo

Stevica Marković Leskovački ajvar

Biagio Carrano Slow Food Belgrade

Snezana Milisavljevic Zlatibor Regional Development Agency

Danijela Jandric Zlatibor Regional Development Agency

Goran Puača Udruženje Futoški kupus

Agnes Zolyomi CEEweb for Biodiversity

Eva Lukonits CEEweb for Biodiversity

Angela Lomba CIBIO-InBIO

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Cordula Mertens SEED

Mihaela Mihai University of Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences, Cluj

Gjoko Zoroski Ecologists Movement of Macedonia

Valentin Mihai University of Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences, Cluj

Juljia Petrosiute Lithuanian Fund for Nature

Silvia Lotman Estonian Fund for Nature

Gerassimos Arapis University of Agriculture, Athens

Natasa Bokan University of Zagreb

Nat Page Fundatia ADEPT

Martin Strelec Juniperia

Peter Kajner Alliance for Tisza

Mihaela Kircheva Bulgarian Association for Alternative Tourism

The event was financially supported by the International Visegrad Fund, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of

the Republic of Korea and the European Commission.