The AGRINNO project, co-financed from the Interreg-IPA Cross-Border Cooperation Programme Hungary-Serbia 2014-2020, aims to improve an agricultural innovation approach for using arable land in household gardens in the cross-border area by introducing new technologies for producing crops.

The project is trying to address a complex social, economic and environmental problem and offer a solution based on the rural development of the EU. It is therefore necessary to establish a small investment model with the existing resources and in the present circumstances in order to provide the unemployed with an opportunity for self-employment. The fact that the rural population has top-quality land in their household gardens makes it possible to introduce a new agricultural business model aimed at boosting productivity and creating self-employment. A possible solution lies in the most cost-effective utilisation of land and workforce in vegetable farming for own consumption and putting excess products on the market, improving product quality and increasing household income.

Consequently, incubators will be set up during the project lifetime in three agricultural schools at each region in Vojvodina, serving as centres where events will be organised, members will gather and experiences will be shared. During the project, a workshop will be organised on experimental fields, as well as round tables, two major seminars and an international conference. The first seminar on “Crop Production in Household Gardens” will be held in Vršac, Ruma and Futog. In addition to gaining theoretical knowledge, the seminar participants will be provided with high-quality seed to plant in their gardens. These seminars will be followed by a seminar in Szeged in order to make the producers aware of the possibilities for creating a finished product and placing it on the market.

Agricultural producers in the border region will be visiting demonstration farms, which will motivate them to secure self-employment and become potential employers, given the fact that the project is to teach them the skills, thus providing them with independence and a better standard of living.

The long-term goal of the project is to pass on and promote the results in practice and connect the people with farmers’ markets, shops and shopping centres in order to establish cooperation in the region, reduce transport costs and achieve competitive prices.