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Agriculture in Serbia

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Around 44.8% of Serbia's total area is used arable land

Agriculture in Serbia is an important sector of the Economy of Serbia comprising 6.0% of GDP and is valued at 2.416 billion euros (as of 2017).[1]

There is a total of 3,475,894 hectares of used arable land in Serbia, comprising 67.12% of total arable land available (including land under forest).[2][3] Agricultural production is mostly present in northern province of Vojvodina on the fertile Pannonian Plain (45% of all used arable land), and the southern lowlands adjacent to the Sava, Danube and Great Morava rivers.

There has been a sharp decline in agricultural activity since 1948, when almost three-quarters of the population engaged in farming, to the present one-sixth.[4] It is estimated that around 1.1 million people in Serbia (15.70% of total population) is employed on agricultural farms, with around 530,000 being employed in farms all-year long (as of 2018).[5] As of 2018, there is a total of 564,542 agricultural farms in Serbia, of which the vast majority of 99.7% are traditional family farms.[2]

Overview

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Serbia produces various agricultural products, mostly grains, fruits and vegetables which constitute a significant part of its GDP and exports. Serbia is among the top five producers in the world of raspberries (127,011 tons as of 2018) and plums (430,199 tons as of 2018). It is also a significant producer of maize (6,158,120 tons, ranked 32nd in the world) and wheat (2,095,400 tons, ranked 35th in the world). The production of sugar beet (2,299,770 tons) and sunflower seeds (454,282 tons) meets domestic demand for sugar and vegetable oil and permits export of some 180,000 tons of sugar to the European Union.[6]

Fruits

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Fruit farms cover 182,922 hectares of arable land in Serbia (as of 2018).[7] The following table gives a preview of prevalent planted fruit species by area and achieved production (as of 2018):[7]

Fruit Native name Genus Hectares
(as of 2018)		 Production
(in tonnes, 2018)
Plum Шљива/ Šljiva Prunus 72,923 430,199
Apple Јабука Malus 26,658 460,404
Raspberry Малина Rubus 24,901 127,011
Sour cherry Вишња Prunus 19,579 128,023
Blackberry Купина Rubus 6,055 35,062
Apricot Кајсија Prunus 6,040 25,414
Peach Бресква Prunus 5,176 50,249
Pear Крушка Malus 4,997 53,905
Hazelnut Лешник Corylus 4,564 5,428
Cherry Трешња Prunus 4,335 19,153
Walnut Орах Juglans 2,796 9,272
Quince Дуња Malus 1,947 12,318
Nectarine Нектарина Prunus 1,131 23,407

Grains

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Grain farms cover around 1,702,829 hectares of arable land in Serbia (as of 2018), making 66.22% of total used arable land.[2] The following table gives a preview of prevalent planted fruit species by area and achieved production (as of 2018):[7]

Grain Native name Genus Hectares
(as of 2018)
Maize Кукуруз Zea 900,048
Wheat Пшеница Triticum 639,595
Barley Јечам Hordeum 102,125
Oat Овас Avena 27,125
Rye Раж Secale 4,408
Other cultures Остале културе 29,507

Plants

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Not including grains, there are various agriculture culters being planted on over 869,000 hectares of arable land in Serbia.[2]

Among vegetable, watermelon and strawberry plants, 34,190 hectares that are grown outdoors are produced for use in fresh state, 12,083 hectares are grown outdoors for industrial processing and 3,843 hectares are grown in greenhouses.[2]

Plant Native name Group Hectares
Sunflower Сунцокрет Industrial plant 239,794
Fodder Крмно биље 230,323
Soybean Соја Industrial plant 196,902
Vegetable, watermelon
and strawberry		 Поврће, бостан
и јагоде		 50,107
Rapeseed Уљана репица Industrial plant 45,575
Sugar beet Шећерна репа 44,898
Potato Кромпир 27,701
Tobacco Дуван Industrial plant 5,244
Bean Пасуљ Legumes 5,137
Herbs Лековито биље Industrial plant 2,430
Other legumes Остале махунарке Legumes 1,409
Pea Грашак Legumes 1,228
Flowers Цвеће 440
Hops Хмељ Industrial plant 215

Wine

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Main article: Serbian wine
Wine regions of Serbia

Serbia is the 19th largest producer of wine in the world. The country has one of Europe's longest history of viticulture and belongs chronologically to the Old World wine producing countries.

There are 21,359 hectares of vineyards in Serbia (as of 2018),[2] producing 198,183 tons of grapes annually (as of 2014), which position Serbia among the first 20 wine-producing countries in the world. The majority of production is dedicated to local wineries.

Major varieties include the Belgrade Seedless, Prokupac, Sauvignon, "Italian Riesling", Cabernet, Chardonnay, White and Red Burgundy, Hamburg, Muscat, Afus Ali, Vranac, Tamjanika, Krstac, Smederevka, and Dinka.[citation needed]

Livestock

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As of 2018, the share of livestock in agricultural production of Serbia stood at 32.6%, with total livestock valued at 1.460 billion euros and annual production value of livestock products being around 450 million euros.[5]

In the total structure of production value of livestock, pigs comprise the most (66.2%), followed by cattle (31.0%), poultry (14.4%) and sheep and goats with 8.4%. As of 2018, there are 23 million chickens, 3.3 million pigs, 1.8 million sheep, 881,000 cattle, 218,000 goats and 15,000 horses. Also, there is an estimated 914,000 beehives, 31,800 rabbits, 4,800 donkeys and small numbers of buffaloes and ostriches.[5]

Education and Research in Agriculture

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There are several faculties that offer tertiary education of agriculture to students:

Fruit Research Institute in Čačak

There are several scientific institutes with scope of their activities devoted to the development of agriculture:[8]

  • Institute for Medicinal Plant Research "Josif Pančić" in Belgrade
  • Institute of Agricultural Economics in Belgrade
  • Institute for Plant Protection and Environment in Belgrade
  • Institute for Animal Husbandry in Belgrade
  • Institute of Forestry in Belgrade
  • Institute of Field and Vegetable Crops in Novi Sad
  • Maize Research Institute "Zemun Polje" in Zemun
  • Institute for Science Application in Agriculture in Belgrade
  • Institute of Meat Hygiene and Technology in Belgrade
  • Institute of Pesticides and Environmental Protection in Belgrade
  • Institute of Agricultural Economics in Belgrade
  • Fruit Research Institute in Čačak
Scientist at the BioSense Institute, 2022

The BioSense Institute in Novi Sad was established in 2015, to develop digital technology for agriculture in Serbia.[9]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT (GDP) 2015 – 2017" (PDF). stat.gov.rs. Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia. Retrieved 22 September 2019.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Анкета о структури пољопривредних газдинстава, 2018. – Земљиште" (pdf). stat.gov.rs (in Serbian). Retrieved 22 September 2019.
  3. ^ "Agriculture and Enlargement" (PDF). European Commission. May 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 May 2013. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
  4. ^ "Agriculture and forestry". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
  5. ^ a b c "Анкета о структури пољопривредних газдинстава, 2018. – Сточарство" (pdf). stat.gov.rs (in Serbian). Retrieved 22 September 2019.
  6. ^ "Serbia Overview". Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Archived from the original on 1 April 2013. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
  7. ^ a b c "Анкета о структури пољопривредних газдинстава, 2018. – Воћарство" (pdf). stat.gov.rs (in Serbian). Retrieved 22 September 2019.
  8. ^ "Izdanje 23. jun 2017 - broj 61". pravno-informacioni-sistem.rs (in Serbian). Službeni Glasnik RS. 23 June 2017. p. 38. Retrieved 25 September 2018.
  9. ^ "The BioSense Institute for agriculture of the future" (PDF). UNESCO Science Report. 2021.
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