The education of experts on sustainable climate

From the 27th of September to the 25th of October,there were organized five webinars related to the influence of climate change. The seminar aimed at equipping Serbian agricultural advisors with new practices, tools and insights how to effectively tackle the problems that climate change puts in front of all of us.

The serial of the webinars took a topical approach to introduction of climate change in extension work and it is applicable to all sectors and productions. The focus was on connectivity and sustainable management of land, water, genetic resources, and information on climate scenarios, processes and policies that can increase or potentially decrease resilience to climate change. Overall, the webinars addressed five burning issues in modern society: Climate system - fragile balance; Genetic resources - from indigenous to selected plant and animal species; Water, the most important resource of the 21st century; Land - conservation practices and approaches; At the crossroads - data, policies and processes in adaptation to climate change.

In the introductory presentation, Mr. Spyros Afentoulidis, Civil Protection and Disaster Risk Reduction Attache at EU Delegation to Serbia greeted the participants and highlighted the importance of continuous education of all parties on climate action. He also stressed the dedication of European Union to work with bodies in Serbia in effective addressing of this issue, whose consequences have impacts on whole community.

Moreover, Mr. Aleksandar Mentov, National Project Manager at Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) emphasized the growing interest of the expert community in the climate action: „A few years ago there was only a dozen of advisors who greatly engaged into this matter, while today I can see more than 100 participants here who are eager to educate themselves and transfer their knowledge to farmers on the ways to deal with climate caused challenges.“

All five chapters attracted great attention of the target public, resulting in the usual attendance of more than 100 participants, including agricultural advisors, representatives of the Ministry of agriculture, forestry and water management, municipalities, secondary agricultural schools and farmers. The valuable network established for this occasion will continue to be strengthen up and expanded in the future too. Besides about dozen expert lectures, participants in the seminars got opportunity to hear the hands-on testimonials from the farmers Serbia-wide, enjoy pertinent interactive videos and take part in the relevant debates.

These trainings were the first step towards helping them and supporting their fight for better yields and farmers’ life. The training is part of the cooperation among Institute for Science Aplication in Agriculture, Training center Novi Sad, Food and agriculture organisation (UN FAO) and Ministry of agriculture, forestry and water management within the project „Strengthening Disaster Resilience in Agriculture“, funded by the European Union.