A conference was held at the Institute of Field and Vegetable Crops in Novi Sad on the occasion of the launching of the project ” Improvement of entrepreneurship and employment opportunities in the cross-border region through agricultural practice based on innovations – Agrinno – 2″. On this occasion, on behalf of the Institute of Field and Vegetable Crops, Professor Jegor Miladinović, PhD said that one of the basic conditions for achieving sustainable development is a highly competitive economy based on knowledge and innovation, which is defined not only in the strategic documents of the European Union, but also in the Smart Specialization Strategy in the Republic of Serbia. “Creating a strong link between science and practice is the most important precondition for achieving sustainable development,” Miladinović said.

Also, on behalf of the Provincial Secretariat for Agriculture, Water Management and Forestry, Secretary Čedomir Božić addressed the audience, stating that: “The Provincial Secretariat for Agriculture, Water Management and Forestry is continuously working on improving the agricultural product, as well as offering incentives in various areas of agriculture to provide all the necessary conditions for development and modernisation. The use of innovations in agriculture, which is the goal of this project, will certainly help unemployed people living in rural areas to establish and improve the production in their gardens, and increase their productivity and profitability.”
The director of the European Affairs Fund of AP Vojvodina, Aleksandar Simurdić, said: “I am extremely honoured that the European Affairs Fund of AP Vojvodina was, for the second time, part of a consortium of partners with the Provincial Secretariat for Agriculture, Water Management and forestry, the Institute of Field and Vegetable Crops and partners from Hungary. To all the project partners, I wish a successful implementation of activities, as well as the division of responsibilities and tasks during project implementation. This project is certainly of particular importance for AP Vojvodina, as well as the cross-border region, where agriculture is recognized as one of the drivers of overall regional development.
Also, it is a continuation of the continuous effort of the provincial administration aimed at strengthening administrative and human capacities in order to better use the funds from the European Union that are available to our country and prepare for inclusion in the common European agricultural policy. A joint approach to solving problems in other areas is key to strengthening and developing the environment through external funding, so I hope that at some future events we will talk about new projects and the results achieved.”
The president of Csongrád County, Laszlo Gemes, addressed the audience in a video, while the project partners from Hungary (Non-profit LLC for Csongrád County Development from Szeged) had the opportunity to attend the opening conference by means of Zoom platform.