EU4Tech was the main topic of the last day at the EU stand project “Strengthening the capacity to align with EU acquis in the fields of agriculture, rural development, food safety, the veterinary and phytosanitary policy, during the International Fair of Agriculture in Novi Sad.

Aleksandar Vuckovic with his company “Taste of Happiness – Happy Honey” and Nikola Stanisic from the start-up “Šumska tajna” presented themselves as good examples of the success of young entrepreneurs in Serbia in the field of agriculture.

Enco Reali, the leader of the team, spoke about successful examples of startup firms that managed to improve their business through this support program.

Through EU4Tech entrepreneurs, they had the opportunity to get investments for their project from investors in Europe.

“Without finance, there is no successful business. EU4Tech has helped us to get in touch with investors and find a strategic partner for our business, which was crucial for our further development,” says Nikola Stanisic from “Šumska tajna”.

Both startups are specific activities in the field of organic food, honey, and mushrooms, and the development path from idea to realization and profit is always difficult for a small manufacturer.

“We turned to nature and wanted to market a healthy and natural product on the market, on which most foods are based on sugar. Bees have been using raw honey for 180 million years, why not. Funds are what can be very helpful and in our country producers do not use enough resources,” explains Vuckovic from “Happy honey”.

The story of organic production is becoming more and more important, especially the production of honey. We are on the eve of May 20, marking the World Bee Day, the day the United Nations adopted a resolution aimed at raising awareness of the importance of the pollinators and warning of their growing numbers. The EU unanimously supported the decision to introduce the World Bee Day, at the UN General Assembly in New York. This additionally encourages those who want to deal with this type of organic production.

Serbia can participate in EU programs, such as the Horizon 2020 Research and Technological Development Program, but also many others, Enco Reali said, adding that they are the main trigger for the success of the idea and innovation. Also, the IPARD programs should be used and the rules followed, which are still complicated but will soon be simplified, Reali concluded.