Mixed farms dominate in Serbia

BELGRADE - Serbian agriculture is dominated by mixed farms, since more than half of all the farms in the country (53.7 percent) belong to one of three groups of farms that both grow crops and breed animals, according to what has been said at the Belgrade Chamber of Commerce.

Specialised farms comprise 46 percent of the total number, according to what was said on Friday at the presentation of a study by the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia entitled 2012 Agricultural Census of Farms Based on Economic Size and Production Type

The largest number of the specialised farms in the group grow field crops, while the lowest number grow vegetable crops, flowers and other horticultultures.

Unclassified farms are at 0.3 percent and they comprise those with just some land around the home, fish farms and the like.

Mixed farms for crops and animal breeding are dominant in the Belgrade, Sumadija and western, southern and eastern Serbia regions, while the specialised farms, mostly focusing on field crops, are mostly in Vojvodina.

A specialised farm is any farm where one type of production accounts for more than two thirds of the total output, according to the explanation at the presentation.

The most economically valuable family farms are those that produce vegetables and flowers, around EUR 8,275, while the least valuable ones focus on vineyards and fruits, around EUR 2,123.

When it comes to legal persons and entrepreneurs, the most economically valuable are miced companies for animal breeding, EUR 1.4 million, but they are the fewest in number. The farms specialising in fruit production and vineyards are financially the weakest, standing at EUR 33,763.

One of the authors, Jonel...