About the project
As Serbia is in the process of European integration, it is very important to work on improving the competitiveness of the agri-food sector by looking at the strategies and policies of the EU, and the harmonization of measures and mechanisms in Serbia with the EU. The focus of the POT4food project is the food supply chain and looking at the possibilities for improving the competitiveness of its main segments: agricultural production, food industry, and food distribution.
The activities of the POT4food project are aimed at filling the gaps in a competently based approach to the research of the problems of the competitiveness of the agri-food sector of Serbia, which will also contain a proposal of measures for improving the competitive position of Serbian agri-food production with the aim of sustainable economic development: Strategic guide with policy recommendations. It is imperative that all results be made available to stakeholders and to be valorized through the implementation of proposed measures and instruments at the institutional level.
The work plan of the project consists of four work packages that include several goals:
WP1: PREPARATION AND QUALITY CONTROL:
- Kick-off meeting in Subotica to prepare project teams and establish scientific research base.
- Report of needs created to analyze current situation in Serbia’s agri-food sector.
- Identification of key stakeholders and potential partners for smooth project execution.
- Quality control and monitoring plan implemented to ensure quality assurance.
- Implementation of internal reporting and reviewing procedures for quality assurance.
- External evaluation conducted by external experts to evaluate project activities.
WP2: RESEARCH OF THE COMPETITIVENESS:
- Focuses on competitiveness research in agri-food industry.
- Structure for six scientific papers based on needs report.
- Main topics include efficiency of agricultural production, agri-food industry performances, food market, consumer behavior, and trade competitiveness of agri-food products.
- Four papers to be submitted to prestigious journals for review.
- Two papers on Serbian agri-food sector competitiveness to be presented at scientific conferences.
- These papers form basis for panel discussion and Strategic guide with policy recommendations.
WP3: CONFERENCE AND PANEL DISCUSSION:
- Verifying research results by encouraging dialogue with stakeholders.
- A special session will be organized at the Strategic Management conference at EFSUNS.
- A panel discussion will be held at EFSUNS with business representatives, academics, and policymakers.
- A final meeting will summarize project results and develop future research ideas.
- The Strategic guide with policy recommendations will be included in EFSUNS curricula on the subjects Introduction of agricultural economics and Agri-food market.
WP4: COMMUNICATION AND DISSEMINATION:
- Creates a Guide for Dissemination, including logo definition, visual identity, and promotion procedure.
- Establishes project website and social media profiles.
- Regularly promotes project activities to raise public awareness.
- Compiles a Report on communication and dissemination to summarize all project activities.