SECOND CONSULTATIVE MEETING WITH ACTORS IN THE VEGETABLE VALUE CHAIN HELD

Vegetable production plays a significant role for small farmers in the protected area of the "Golija" Nature Park, primarily in the production of potatoes. Bearing in mind the above, as well as the fact that the Network for Rural Development of Serbia, on the basis of a developed methodology, chose the value chain of vegetable growing as one of the two chains for which a consultative process will be carried out with the aim of assessing the state and prospects for its development. The target group of the meeting are small producers from PP "Golija" who are engaged in the primary production of vegetables.

The consultative meeting related to the value chain of vegetable production was held on November 24, 2024. in the village of Rudno near Kraljevo. A value chain analysis and a SWOT analysis were prepared in a participatory manner during the workshop. The data obtained from the analysis of the current situation and the SWOT analysis enabled the definition of possible solutions and recommendations for the development of this value chain.

The participants pointed out that in their production of potatoes, commercial and seed, there has been a supply chain established for decades, in which small farmers are involved in production that is partly contracted with wholesalers, while the farmers sell the other part of the production themselves through retail sales or buyers. who trade in potatoes. The main problems they face are related to unstable weather conditions and limited possibilities for irrigation, which varies the production itself.

The meeting was attended by 18 participants from the area of Kraljevo and the Network for Rural Development of Serbia.

The consultative meeting was realized within the framework of the projects "Academy from the field to the table for the green Western Balkans - our common European future", co-financed by the European Union and "Active youth - dialogue on Green Agriculture policies and the experience of the EU Common Agricultural Policy" co-financed by the Ministry of European integration of the Republic of Serbia.