Serbian Association of Agricultural Economists

Serbian
Association of
Agricultural
Economists

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Serbian
Association of
Agricultural
Economists

Tatjana Brankov and Marija Nikolić visited agricultural producers in Kosmet

As part of the project idea entitled "THE TREASURE OF KOSOVO AND METOHIJE: FROM THE HEART OF SERBIA TO YOUR TABLE", the representative of SAAE, prof. PhD Tatjana Brankov (president of SAAE) and Assoc. PhD Marija Nikolić (president of the DAES Board), visited Kosovo and Metohija in the period from January 30 to February 2, 2024.

In this visit, they were joined by Mr. Zoran Zdravković (director of the company "Metohija doo"), prof. Dr. Tanja Vujović (Dean of the Faculty of Economics in Priština) and Maja Mladenović, assistant (Faculty of Economics in Priština).

During the visit, the current situation was investigated to a limited extent and potential opportunities for further improvement of the position of Serbian agricultural producers in Kosmet were identified.

It was established that:

  1. The Priština-Lešak Agricultural School (Leposavić Municipality) has infrastructural capacities which, with small investments, can be used to open a dairy, which would carry out an organized purchase of milk throughout the entire territory of the Kosmet.

  2. The municipality of Leposavić is interesting because of the breeding of the autochthonous breed - Busha, a small short mountain cattle, which in the early Middle Ages was the dominant breed of cattle in the hilly and mountainous areas of the Balkans, and which is now brought to the brink of survival.

  3. In the municipality of Leposavić, there is potential for the processing of buckwheat flour, and yellow-toothed corn - an indigenous variety - is also produced.

  4. The company Pepermint International, founded in 2012 in the village of Vuča, operates in the mentioned municipality, which buys wild plants and fruits that belong to wild species. The company currently has 20 subcontractors and over 100 collectors, is certified by the certification house Albinspekct (Switzerland) and has two certificates, Organic EU and BioSuisse Organic.

  5. In the municipality of Zubin potok, there is a cooperative of the same name - the most successful cooperative in the territory of Kosovo and Metohija.

  6. In the city of Pristina, a significant number of producers of quality brandy, fruit and honey were recorded. Producer Dušan Godžić, founder of Red Diamond, achieves impressive results in the production and processing of goji berries, which have the potential to treat health problems.

  7. In the municipality of Vitina (village of Mogila), the Bocić family stands out, which is involved in the production of vegetables, among other things, the production of an old variety of pepper - vezenka and products made from it (ajvar, pickles, crushed pepper).
poseta-kosmet-2024
zadruyni-savez-zubin-potok

One of the goals of the visit to Kosovo and Metohija was to assess the willingness of farmers to join together, as well as to identify potential obstacles in this process. It was established that among agricultural producers there is an awareness of the need for association, but also a high level of apprehension regarding the security of the property in which the cooperative members would invest.

As a result of the visit, certain conclusions were drawn, and SAAE proposed to the The Office for Kosovo and Metohija of the Government of the Republic of Serbia:

  1. Opening of a store for the supply of agricultural products (under the trademark "Kosovo peony") from Kosmet in an attractive location in Belgrade;
  2. Opening of a store with local agricultural products in the municipality of Štrpce;
  3. Opening of a dairy in the municipality of Leposavic;
  4. Encouraging the development of the egg and chicken meat production sector in Kosmet;
  5. Encouraging the development of the beekeeping sector in Kosmet;
  6. More active involvement of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Serbia in solving the problems of agricultural producers in Kosmet;
  7. Organizing a series of lectures on the benefits of association.