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At the Panel on transformations of food systems (“BEYOND FOOD SYSTEMS SUMMIT PANEL DISCUSSION”) organized by the Ministry of Agriculture and the United Nations and held within the International Agricultural Fair in Novi Sad, Assistant Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management Vedrana Ilić pointed out that we must build resilient and sustainable food systems that will cope with shocks caused by pandemics and climate change and that the development of the entire value chain in food systems and the stimulation of rural economic activity are key to sustainable development and economic growth in Serbia. to work more on improving food safety, problems caused by climate change, controlling the use of pesticides, but also helping small, medium and large food producers to be competitive both on the domestic and foreign markets,” Ilić said at the “Food Summit Novi Sad” organized by the Ministry of agriculture and the United Nations. Ilić underlined that the transformation of food systems is a process in which we all participate together, which is why good communication is necessary at all levels and between all interested groups. “We must work together to improve quality, follow world trends, and harmonize with the demands of the market and regulations, while at the same time, we must work on adapting agricultural production to climate change through modernization, education and more efficient use of natural resources with as little impact on the environment as possible,” Ilić pointed out. like other countries, we are facing obstacles that I am sure we will overcome together,” said Ilić, adding that everyone is fully committed to achieving the set goals. One of the main goals of the transformation of Serbia’s food systems remains digitization and technological modernization, she stated. Ilić also reminded that since last Mr has made a big step in this direction by establishing the legal framework for E-agrar (platform for agricultural subsidies and registration of agricultural households). innovative technologies, and that’s something we’re really proud of. We are always open to talk with all interested parties and to introduce new things that contribute to improving the stability and predictability of primary agriculture and processing,” Ilić said.Among the activities undertaken in this direction are the realization of the project of regionalization of fruit production in Serbia, promotion of organic production, protection of geographical origin and adaptation to climate change – 3 projects of the Green Climate Fund (implemented by UNDP, FAO and Development Fund of Vojvodina). We also have large investment projects, especially in the field of irrigation and automatic hail protection. In the previous period, we launched several public-private partnerships (Leskovac vegetable growers, potato producers from Prilik and cherries from Merošina), and we are also working on enabling small producers to create short supply chains with food by changing by-laws and enabling them to sell their products locally, while harmonizing their production with food safety standards, which is an important step for all of us as customers, Ilić concluded. Permanent Coordinator of the United Nations in Serbia, Francoise Jacob, emphasized the importance of transformation towards the sustainability of the food systems in Serbia supported by the United Nations.
Participants in the panel discussion from Hungary and North Macedonia presented their activities and achievements in the development of rural development and food systems, while Ivana Simić, Secretary General of Serbia Organica, presented the organic production sector in Serbia, trends and achievements in previous years, and on that occasion pointed out that organic agriculture is one of the most promising branches of agriculture  in Serbia which makes a huge contribution to the sustainability of the entire food chain and which can significantly contribute to adapting and mitigating the consequences of climate change on agriculture.