As is the case in many other areas, the greater participation of clean technologies and innovations, optimal use of resources and improving health conditions and quality of life all form part of the response to climate change
In agriculture, as one of the most strategically important branches of the Serbian economy, traditional systems of cultivating plants and breeding livestock remain the most strongly represented. Alongside this problem, the harmful impact of climate change is becoming increasingly pronounced. That’s why a need to accept two concepts imposes itself.
The first is the sustainable development of agriculture and rural development, which implies economic growth that primarily ensures the greater use of new (so-called clean) technologies and innovations, the optimal use of resources, improved health conditions and quality of life, as well as the reduction of pollution levels (or the preservation of biodiversity); the second is so-called climate-smart agriculture, which provides for increased productivity and adaptability to climate change in a sustainable way, contributing to achieving the goals of national food security and the sustainable development of agriculture and villages.
Accepting these two concepts serves to harmonise Serbia’s agricultural and rural development policies with green economy principles, while directing efforts towards solutions that ensure reduced lagging in terms of technological development and the agricultural sector effectively confronting the impacts of climate change, increasing the efficiency and competitiveness of production and stabilising the revenue generated by agricultural producers and achieving the economic, environmental and social goals of sustainable development, in which a special place is held by multifunctional agriculture and rural development.
Economic growth ensures the social and ecological sustainability of agriculture, which must deal with the consequences of both climate change and the excessive use of resources
The main areas linked to the aforementioned problems and imposed solutions are as follows: renewable energy sources and energy efficiency, as well as sustainable agriculture, which implies the intelligent use of natural resources (land, water and energy).
All of the above leads to a need for economic growth to ensure agriculture’s social and ecological sustainability, which must deal with the consequences of both climate change and the excessive use of resources.
In Serbia’s case, a solution to this problem is reflected in the initiative that should improve agricultural production through science and technology, whilst also raising the level of awareness and knowledge among farmers regarding the economic viability and cost-effectiveness of utilising renewable energy sources and advanced innovative technologies.
The expected effects of applying new (so-called clean) technologies in agriculture and rural development relate primarily to the intelligent use of natural resources (land, water and energy), which has a direct impact on economic growth and an indirect influence over environmental conservation.
