On May 13, 2011, the Conference of the Ministers for Agriculture of the Central European Initiative was opened in Belgrade by Serbian Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic.
In his speech, he emphasised his government’s commitment to the Organisation, during this year’s Serbian Presidency, acting as a promoter of regional cooperation for a closer European Integration in the field of agriculture as well as in other priority fields.
Mr. Dushan Petrovic, Serbian Minister of Agriculture, Trade, Forestry and Water Management focused on several issues and challenges related to “Small Farming Versus Globalisation”, the main theme of the meeting.
CEI Alternate Secretary General, Giorgio Rosso Cicogna, in his presentation, recalled previous experiences and success stories regarding the utilisation of CEI cooperation instruments in the field of sustainable agriculture and rural development. In this regard, he mentioned a new CEI initiative in the field of next generation bio fuels. The Serbian Presidency strongly endorsed the proposal for a regional and integrated project in this field and invited other CEI Member States to do the same.
The discussions focused on ways and means to support small farmers in their efforts to increase the quality of their production and eventually improve their earning potentials.
Further cooperation activities in the field of agriculture and rural development were recommended.
