Modern agriculture is, among other things, multifunctional and, for the purpose of its sustainability, requires connection with other industries and activities, into a system that has a diverse offer, gives impetus to local development and, as much as possible, meets all other criteria of sustainable development. At the same time, the habits of the population in everyday life (diet, attitude towards nature, …) are changing significantly and are bringing greater interest in certain activities that are (in)directly related to these spheres. In this context, many economic activities, regardless of their previous representation in practice, are becoming significant, with many different aspects and desirable, in terms of circularity and sustainability, bringing numerous benefits to both producers and the wider community. The workshop included a presentation of some of these activities (beekeeping, processing of medicinal herbs, …) and was intended for agricultural producers, young people from the surrounding villages and students in the final year of the Secondary Agricultural School in Bač, which are the target groups of the project, so the event was an excellent opportunity to present the project (Circular economy as a model of development that forms a new identity of the Republic of Serbia – EDUCIRC2022) and the most important results. In addition to its direct objectives, the workshop indirectly contributes to achieving the objectives envisaged by the project program, which relate to raising the level of awareness of the rural population, not only agricultural producers, but especially young people, about the need to introduce innovative technologies and circularity practices in agricultural activities, for the purpose of economic and environmental sustainability of the entire economy.
Speakers (Participants):
Prof. Olivera Nikolić, a member of the project team, presented the content entitled “Women in rural areas of Serbia – attitudes and experiences on the position of women in the countryside and innovations in agriculture”. First, she introduced the attendees to the basic facts about the project: the source of funding, goals, work methodology and research area. She dedicated most of the presentation to the obtained results that illustrate numerous aspects of the life and work of the rural population, with an emphasis on women and young people, their status on farms, attitude towards innovations in agricultural production, thoughts on agrarian policy and the role of women/youth in the creation and implementation of programs and improving the quality of life and work in rural areas, the level of knowledge about modern trends in the economy, primarily the circular economy. The presented results stimulated a very high-quality discussion among the attendees and interested them, so the material was distributed (electronically) to the event coordinator to make it available to the participants.
Picture 1. Prof. Olivera Nikolić, a member of the project team, presents the project
Picture 2. Workshop participants
Picture 3. Prof. Olivera Nikolić, a member of the project team, presents the project results
Picture 4. Prof. Olivera Nikolić, a member of the project team, talks to workshop participants
