Novi Sad, 28 January - President of the AP Vojvodina Assembly, Balint Juhász took part in the opening conference of the “Smart Agro-Innovations and Training Action – SAGITTA” project, held today at the Science and Technology Park in Novi Sad.
Addressing the participants, Juhász emphasised that the SAGITTA project marked a transition from traditional to modern agriculture, highlighting the crucial role of knowledge and education.
“Vojvodina is home to over 111,000 agricultural holdings and 1.65 million hectares of arable land, but today it is no longer enough to simply own land; what is needed are innovations and people who know how to make it competitive,” Juhász stated, pointing to the concrete benefits of this cross-border project.
“The total budget of the SAGITTA project exceeds EUR 3.4 million. During the project implementation, 532 trainees will participate in training programmes and at least 400 of them will successfully complete the courses. This means 400 new professionals equipped with modern agricultural knowledge for the region, 400 individual success stories and 400 reasons for people to remain in their communities,” Juhász underscored, adding that last year the Province had invested more than RSD 4.3 billion in the agricultural sector.
“Today, we are investing not only in machinery, but in people and knowledge, because modern agriculture is born in laboratories, startups and innovation centres. It has always been true that what we sow today, we reap tomorrow, and through the SAGITTA programme we are sowing knowledge that will bring long-term competitiveness and keep people in Vojvodina,” Juhász said.
The lead partner in the SAGITTA project is the “Pro Scientia Naturae” Foundation from Senta, while project partners include the Fund for European Affairs and Development of AP Vojvodina, Municipality of Mórahalom and Alföldi Agricultural Vocational Training Centre from Hungary. The project is financed under the Interreg IPA Hungary–Serbia 2021–2027 programme. The total project budget amounts to EUR 3,461,821.20, of which 85% is EU grant funding.
In addition to the presence of the Provincial Secretary for Regional Development, Interregional Cooperation and Local Self-Government, Aleksandar Sofić, the conference featured speeches by Nemanja Martinović from the Serbian Ministry of European Integration, representatives of project partners, experts and project managers.