Meeting on the topic “Youth in Rural Areas”

On October 20, 2017, a meeting on the topic “Youth in Rural Areas” was held in Vrsac. The meeting was attended by young people from the rural areas from the Vrsac area (mostly students of the secondary agricultural school "Vrsac"), representatives of the youth from the vicinity of Nis, representatives of PSS "Agrozavod" from Vrsac, and the professors from the secondary agricultural school "Vrsac".

The meeting was organized within the framework of the project "ALTER - Active Local Territories for Economic Development of Rural Areas" funded by the European Union, as part of the activities “Establish direct cooperation and dialogue between CSOs and public institutions in order to influence policy making and create concrete changes in sustainable socio-economic rural development”. The project is implemented at the national level by the Network for rural development of Serbia.

The biggest problems that young people in rural areas recognize are:

•    Inability to find a life partner,
•    Humiliation of an agricultural call,
•    "Poor" social and social life,
•    "Ineffectiveness" of dealing with agricultural production (lack of long-term agrarian policy),
•    It is a difficult market game of "small" manufacturers with big players on the market,
•    The sale and purchase of products and / or services is very uncertain and risky,
•    There are few employment opportunities in rural areas,
•    State subsidies are small and insufficient,
•     The young people who are educated mostly stay in cities and do not return to rural areas,
•    Administrative and bureaucratic regulations at the state and local levels burden the business and development of youth initiatives,
•    In the villages there is insufficiently developed infrastructure,
•    Poor transport connectivity with city centers (public transport is insufficient and poorly functioning),
•     Insufficiently developed ‘’business climate’’ in rural areas,
•    Insufficiently developed social infrastructure (kindergartens, schools, sports and cultural events, etc.)
•    Lack of financial support for young people to start a business ...

In addition to all the above problems, young people are  willing to live in the village, they only need systemic assistance and clearly defined long-term policy of support in agricultural production. Rural youth are aware of the fact that life and work in the village have many advantages over the city, which is primarily reflected in the quality of life, a healthier environment, a better contact with nature and the continuation of the family tradition of dealing with agricultural production.

Concrete proposals / initiatives:

•    It is necessary to permanently learn, to expand its knowledge (formally and informally) and to follow the trends in the development of agricultural production in the EU because it is the only way for young people from the rural areas to be competitive and to identify the developmental potential, which is one of the prerequisites for their residency in the countryside ,
•    Organic agricultural production and the development of rural tourism as a chance to create added value and a better life for young families,
•    It is necessary to educate parents of young farmers in order to support young people (sharing responsibilities, accepting and supporting their initiatives and independence…),
•    It is necessary to create systematic measures of support for young people in rural areas by the Republic and municipalities (grants, favorable loans, tax exemptions, ...),
•    Construction of small processing capacities, production facilities ... in rural areas where young people could be employed,
•    The adoption of a law by which only one of the heirs (the one who wants to engage in agricultural production) can inherit the property and that other members of the household are obliged to pay it - a measure that should prevent the fragmentation of the property...

Positive examples are the manifestation "Days of the Village" organized by Svrljig municipality every year and study visits by pupils of the secondary agricultural school from Vrsac to agricultural holdings in the EU.