"Utilize this fertile Serbian land to sow the seeds of your labor."

"And so it was. And the earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself" - as Moses said in the book of Genesis. Agriculture of a country provides much more than food. Since its inception, the purpose of agriculture has been to nourish and stimulate human activities, and now it's more important than ever. When viewed through history, changes today are happening much faster than ever before. Standards, technology, production, supply chains, investor needs, consumer demands, customer perceptions, and much more change from year to year. Today, the world must produce more with less. Global events are leading the agricultural sector into a new era characterized by higher demand but scarcer resources. Globally, three-quarters of the poor live in rural areas, and most depend on farming for their livelihoods. Agriculture offers essential products, ecological services, and social goods that facilitate economic development through industrialization. Here are some interesting global agricultural facts: 40% of the world's population is in agriculture, which makes sense as we need agriculture to survive. Cows are prolific producers, generating a lot of milk and meat, but they also consume a ton of food - literally. There are 9 million organic farmers worldwide, and their numbers are still growing. Some plants require cold weather to bloom; cruel treatment of seeds and plants signals the plant to go dormant, and when it warms up again, the plant is ready for reproduction. Out of 3.3 million operational farmworkers, 30% are women, a percentage that has increased by 20% compared to 2002, and more than 75% of women who manage farms are landowners.

Agriculture is an integral part of every economy and its society. In terms of indirect effects, any significant reduction in agricultural activity would create losses in GDP and jobs in related economic sectors, especially in the farm supply chain. Rural activities, including tourism, transportation, and local and public services, would also be affected. Agriculture constitutes the primary source of GDP and livelihoods in most developing countries, particularly in rural communities. In Serbia, the GDP from agriculture increased to 93.1 billion dinars in the third quarter of 2021 from 66.4 billion dinars in the second quarter of 2021. The agriculture, forestry, and fishing sector account for about 7.5% of gross value added and employ about 15% of the workforce, contributing together with the food industry, beverage industry, and tobacco industry to total exports at around 19%.

Agriculture, including agricultural production, fisheries, and forestry, on average accounted for 6.3% of the total gross value added (GVA), amounting to 349 billion dinars in 2020, compared to 323 billion dinars in 2019. The number of employed in agriculture and their share of total employment is declining, and this trend is due to several factors, including unfavorable demographic trends in rural areas, extended periods of regular schooling, migration, and the increased availability of jobs in other sectors. Although Serbia's agriculture is more advanced than many sectors, characterized by higher growth and better trends, it is generally associated with relatively low per-hectare or per capita yields. Looking at crops where Serbia's production exceeds 10,000 tons, EU average yields are on average 60% higher than the average for that crop in Serbia. This suggests that yields in Serbia are lower due to the limited use of modern agricultural machinery and agro-technical measures, often compensated by lower labor, energy, and land costs.

Currently, Serbia has just over 1.3 million farmers, making up 17.3% of the total population. It's essential to consider that Serbia occupies a total area of 8,836,100 hectares, with agricultural land covering 5,092,000 hectares, translating to 0.56 hectares per person. Out of this area, 4,218,000 hectares are arable land, equal to 0.46 hectares per person. Among these, fields and gardens account for approximately 3,345,000 hectares, orchards about 246,000 hectares, vineyards about 67,000 hectares, meadows about 594,000 hectares, pastures about 826,000 hectares, swamps and fishponds about 36,000 hectares. About 70% of Serbia's total territory consists of agricultural land, while 30% is covered by forests. Analyzing these data, we can conclude that Serbia, in terms of per capita, has more agricultural land than the minimum required for food security.

It is estimated that around 1.1 million people in Serbia (or 15.70% of the total population) are employed in agriculture, with about 530,000 people working on farms throughout the year (since 2018). As of 2019, there are 631,000 agricultural households in Serbia, the vast majority (99.7%) of which are traditional family farms. This data suggests that Serbia's agriculture is and will continue to be based on family farms, with the potential for development through cooperation. Vojvodina has achieved an agricultural revolution, where farmers in every village cultivate hundreds of hectares of land, either their own or leased, creating favourable conditions for their work. In Vojvodina, 80% of agricultural land is produced by around 30,000 farms out of a total of 145,000 farms (ratio of 20:80). In central Serbia, approximately 220,000 farmers are cultivating about 88% of the land (balance of 58:88). Achieving these changes required the development of credit markets for the agricultural sector, access to new technologies and machinery, as well as the leasing of state-owned land. Maintaining a sustainable rural community, where agriculture is an essential economic activity that generates local employment, brings multiple economic, social, environmental, and territorial benefits. While the example of the EU shows that small land parcel sizes do not hinder development, with 49% of farms having less than two hectares and owning 2% of the total agricultural land, on the other hand, 3% of the largest farms, with more than 100 hectares, own over 50% of agricultural land.

Some actions that could contribute to developing Serbian agriculture through localization addressing the challenges and risks of financing agriculture include Capacity Development: Offering training to farmers along with advisory services on making agricultural production a profitable business. Tailored Financial Products: Developing agricultural-specific credit products that cater to the needs of farmers, enabling them to borrow and successfully repay loans. Risk Mitigation: Providing financial and entrepreneurial education to reduce risks and establishing solid partnerships and alliances to promote investments in agriculture. Technology Adoption: Implementing cutting-edge technology to enhance efficiency and improve access, as well as raising awareness of the opportunities offered by agricultural cooperatives, associations, and clusters.

Although rural families often earn a living from various types of work, improvements in agriculture have proven to be a path to widespread rural economic growth that reduces poverty. Successful agricultural transformations have focused on family farming, providing opportunities for farmers to earn higher incomes. For some, this will mean increasing farm productivity or taking production to a higher level, including higher-value crops and livestock. As family farms have more money, they spend more on the local economy, creating jobs, opportunities, and a greater demand for agricultural goods. The question is how to accelerate, sustain, and scale these growth cycles. This requires a well-crafted agricultural plan as part of the country's overall economic development approach, for which the potential is evident because it's Serbia, a land of peasants in the hilly Balkans.