CORNUCOPIA

Project CORNUCOPIA co-financed within Interreg IPA CBC Hungary-Serbia 2014-2020

The CORNUCOPIA project, which is co-financed by the European Union under the Interreg IPA Cross-border Cooperation Programme Hungary-Serbia, aims to encourage joint research in order to improve the capacity for employment and development of small and medium-sized enterprises in the agricultural and food industry in the cross-border area through the application of new technologies, new products and sustainable use of natural resources. The project partnership is comprised of partners from Serbia: the Faculty of Agriculture Novi Sad, European Affairs Fund of the AP Vojvodina, Association of Gardeners Senta, and from Hungary: the National Agricultural Research and Innovation Centre (NAIK), Cereal Research Non-Profit Limited Company and Lendületben az Agro-Biotech Vállalkozás-fejlesztésért Innovatív Non-profit Alapítvány.

The project beneficiaries are individual farms, which will be engaged in the production of alternative plant species, as well the economy that will create their way to the end users - consumers. Both in Hungary and Serbia, there are excellent conditions for the cultivation of alternative plant species. In addition, they can be cultivated on small surfaces, small gardens, as well as in the organic production system, which is important for owners of agricultural households and in terms of improving the home budget. Plants such as wheat, spelt, triticum, buckwheat, sorghum, cannabis, sweet potato and many others can prove to be very profitable and their use is possible both in human and cattle nutrition and in the processing industry. In this regard, the project activities involve training courses in alternative plants in Senta and Novi Sad, symposiums and workshops with young researchers. Moreover, there will be a study visit of SME employees in the area agriculture and food industry in the cross-border area. Taking into account the aforementioned activities, through the CORNUCOPIA project, the partners will promote a new model of agricultural business, introduce new technologies and contribute to the increase in the living standard of the population in rural areas and to the progress of the Republic of Serbia, and thus of Vojvodina in the European integration process.