Serbia: The edible spoon is the tastiest innovation of the week

Agreement reached with government, farmers’ protests to stop

Minister of Agriculture Aleksandar Martinovic and representatives of multiple farmers' associations signed an agreement about the payment of additional subsidies to farmers within 30 days instead of the promised €145 after last year's mass protests. The agreement stipulates that for the following year, farmers will receive €145 per hectare for certified seeds, in addition to the existing subsidy of €154 per hectare. The agreement also specifies that the amount of reimbursements that can be claimed in 2025 through the right of refund will not be less than the amount in 2024.

 The United Farmers' Associations of Serbia decided to accept the conditions offered by the Ministry of Agriculture. "At the farmers meeting in Centa, the representatives of associations gathered under the United Farmers' Associations of Serbia unanimously agreed to accept the agreement," the associations stated. The agreement was accepted by several groups, including the Initiative for Agricultural Survival, the Association of Agricultural Producers of Subotica, the Alliance of Banat Farmers' Associations, the Ara-dac Farmers' Association, the Citizens' Association Novoseljanski Paori, the Farmers' Association of Nova Crnja "Crnica," and Dolovački Paori. Farmers have committed to maintaining "peaceful communication with the Ministry of Agriculture" in the future, avoiding street demonstrations and road blockades.

Additionally, if the provisions of this agreement are respected, they will refrain from presenting additional demands.

Core days 2024: Towards net zero future

A regional conference titled “Core days 2024 – towards net zero future” took place in Belgrade at the end of October. The conference was organized by NALED, the EIT food hub in Serbia. The aim of the event was to gather relevant stakeholders and innovators from agri-food sector in Serbia and Europe, to disseminate information about their experiences regarding sustainable agricultural practices, what are the key challenges in their business operations, how to strengthen the cooperation and how to attract wider audience to be involved in the innovative ecosystem.

Ileen Wilke from Foodvalley NL was part of the panel III “Solutions for Net Zero Future – FOOD”. This panel tackled regenerative agriculture as response to global warming and the climate crisis and Ms Wilke shared the Dutch experience in area. EIT Food | Accelerating Food Innovation for a Future-Fit Food System - EIT Food presented its missions as well as innovation support models and funding opportunities at the conference.

CEFTA aims to expand green corridors to all crossings with EU member states

Within the framework of the CEFTA agreement, of which Serbia is a signatory, efforts are being intensified to expand the Green Corridors, a special regime for transport of goods, to all border crossings with neighboring EU member states. Currently, only a few crossings with Croatia, Greece, and Italy are included, where the CEFTA SEED electronic platform for the rapid exchange of customs data is being implemented, said Edna Karadza, SEED+ project manager at the CEFTA Secretariat.

"The Green Corridors Initiative has been one of the most successful cooperation initiatives within CEFTA. It has already been expanded to all inner CEFTA crossings, and several with neighboring EU member states. This includes the Bogorodica-Evzoni crossing with Greece and certain crossings with Croatia. After the current initial trial phase at several crossings, all Croatian crossings with Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro for road transport will be included. For maritime transport with Italy, the Bar-Bari/Ancona and Durres-Bari/Ancona routes are part of the initiative," Karadza stated in an interview with Beta news agency. She further explained that due to the Green Corridors Initiative, data collection on waiting and processing times at customs began in early 2022, and the information gathered for that year serves as a basis for analysis. "The average waiting and processing time at all crossings within CEFTA in 2023 was 86 minutes, seven minutes less per truck compared to 2022. Considering the total number of truck crossings throughout CEFTA last year, this reduction amounts to a total decrease in waiting/processing time equivalent to nearly 20 years for all transporters," she emphasized.

Serbian scientists developing AI to predict floods

The Institute for Artificial Intelligence in Serbia is launching an international project, ARTIFACT (Artificial Intelligence for Flood Resilient Infrastructure). "This project is a significant advancement for both: the Institute and for Serbia. By collaborating with leading European institutions, we are opening new avenues for applying artificial intelligence to address complex environmental and infrastructure challenges," said Dubravko Culibrk, acting director of the Institute.

The advanced AI models developed through ARTIFACT will provide more accurate flood predictions and respond faster to extreme weather events. Milan Stojkovic, Head of the Green AI research group, emphasized the importance of positioning the Institute as a regional leader in AI-driven water engineering. "The goal of ARTIFACT is to enhance urban infrastructure resilience to flooding through the use of artificial intelligence and nature-inspired engineering solutions. One of our key challenges will be adapting these innovations to local climate and infrastructure conditions in cooperation with the IT sector and academic community," Stojkovic added.

ARTIFACT involves collaboration among experts from Serbia, the Netherlands, and Germany to develop sustainable flood protection systems. Key partners include the Delft University of Technology, the IHE Delft Institute for Water Education and the Hamburg University of Technology.

New retailer enters Serbian market

The French retail chain Carrefour is set to enter the Serbian market through its Greek partner, according to portal Retail Serbia. Retail and More, Carrefour's exclusive partner in Greece, has established a subsidiary in Serbia. After signing an agreement with the French group, the Greek company sought a local partner in Serbia, but as no deal was reached, negotiations for the acquisition of a well-known Serbian retail chain began.

These negotiations are now in their final stages, and Carrefour is expected to enter the Serbian market as early as next year. The Greek company is planning a significant expansion in the Balkans. Earlier this year, the first Carrefour supermarkets opened in Bulgaria. As part of a previous agreement, Retail and More, in collaboration with its local partner, plans to re-brand Parkmart and ALDO stores in Bulgaria into Carrefour outlets. Retail and More A.E. is part of the Greek AVE group, which holds the rights to operate Carrefour in Greece, Cyprus, Serbia, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Albania, and Montenegro.

Edible coffee/tea spoon made in Serbia

“My Spoon” is a small Serbian company producing edible coffee and tea spoons. This innovative product gained international success before drawing attention at home. Recently, the edible spoon, along with the company from Banatski Karlovac, has captured the interest of the European hospitality industry, as it will soon be available in Ferrari's service centers and showrooms in Switzerland, served alongside coffee and tea for clients waiting on their luxury cars. According to My Spoon's director, Leon Caran, the connection with Ferrari was no coincidence or overnight success.

"Our company's owner, Petar Radulovic, an economist with a long career in solar energy, noticed his best man chewing on a plastic stirrer during a coffee break. He told him, 'Don't do that—it's harmful plastic,' to which his cousin replied, 'Well, make me an edible one!' It may have seemed funny at the time, but things soon aligned," Caran explained to E-Kapija. Radulovic consulted Caran, a lawyer, on regulatory aspects, and with the EU's recent ban on single-use plastics, they realized it was the perfect moment to launch the product. The team secured as much legal protection for the product as possible, both domestically and internationally, and established a production facility in 2021.

Today, My Spoon employs eight people and distributes its edible spoons across several European countries and the United States.