Financing development of organic agriculture: Experiences of Serbia

A precise strategic vision of development, an adequate basis in the normative framework, as well as financial support (incentives) are necessary for the achievement of sustainable rural development. The aim of the research is to analyze the amount, structure and share in the agricultural budget of incentives for sustainable rural development in the period 2013-2023, as well as to assess the effectiveness of these incentives on the development of organic production in the Republic of Serbia. The paper used descriptive statistics methods, desk research method, methods of analysis and synthesis, as well as descriptive and comparative methods. The author concludes that in the Republic of Serbia, incentives for sustainable rural development are continuously paid from the state (agricultural) budget, that incentives for organic production had a dominant share in their structure in the analyzed period (2013-2023), but that organic production has not been developed in accordance with natural resources and allocations from the state (agricultural) budget. The paper also analyzes the experiences of the Republic of Croatia regarding financial support for the development of ecological and sustainable agriculture and makes proposals for the introduction of new types of incentives within the framework of agricultural policy measures in the Republic of Serbia.