{"id":1027,"date":"2023-11-17T09:20:35","date_gmt":"2023-11-17T09:20:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zeminst.ukim.edu.mk\/?page_id=1027"},"modified":"2024-10-08T09:21:54","modified_gmt":"2024-10-08T09:21:54","slug":"pametnoto-zemjodelstvo-e-idninata-na-razvojot-na-makedonskoto-zemjodelsko-proizvodstvo","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/zeminst.ukim.edu.mk\/en\/konferencii\/pametnoto-zemjodelstvo-e-idninata-na-razvojot-na-makedonskoto-zemjodelsko-proizvodstvo\/","title":{"rendered":"Smart agriculture is the future of the Macedonian agricultural production"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

Smart agriculture is the future of the Macedonian agricultural production<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

The UKIM Institute of Agriculture \u2013 Skopje organised a conference titled \u201cSmart Agriculture \u2013 The future of agriculture and rural development\", which was financially supported by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology \u2013EIT Food of the European Union. The conference which took place at the premises of the Center for Technology Transfer and Innovations in Skopje at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technologies \u2013 FEIT raised the question about the use of new technologies in agriculture as a key factor for promoting our agricultural production. Due to the multidisciplinary character of the topic, the participants at the event included representatives from scientific and educational backgrounds in agriculture and Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in our country and the region, students, the private sector, individual farmers and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Economy.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

At the conference opening, the director of the Institute of Agriculture, Prof. Dr Viktor Gjamovski stressed the importance of digitalization as an imminent transformation for the future development of our agriculture, which is an important socioeconomic branch, covering about 10% of total GDP. Agriculture is going through the so-called fourth revolution, stemming from the exponentially increased use of ICT, and these technical improvements are expected to generate major changes in agricultural practices in our country as well. Monitoring these trends is of utmost importance for improving the competitiveness of our agriculture, which, despite having a long tradition and huge potential for development, faces a number of problems, such as rural poverty, low efficiency and mechanization, limited knowledge and skills, etc. That is the main reason why today we are talking about the trends of agricultural digitalization in the world and the advantages and challenges faced by our country since the introduction of these new technologies into agriculture.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

The Minister for Agriculture, Forestry and Water Economy, Ljupco Nikolovski, welcomed the initiative for holding such a conference and emphasized that it is in line with the key strategic goals of the Ministry for improving the competitiveness of the agricultural sector. To that end, he stressed that the Rural Development Program introduced a sub-measure \u2013 Smart Agriculture, as a new financial support for modernising agricultural holdings.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Examples of the application of smart agricultural technologies and practices presented at the conference by experts of the Institute of Agriculture, as a research-scientific institution for agricultural plant production, confirm that smart technological solutions have almost unlimited application and opportunities in all segments of agriculture, food industry and rural development.<\/p>

The latest digital solutions in modern agriculture were presented: drones with automatic flight control, which together with light and powerful sensitive cameras can be used to determine the chemical elements in the soil and plant diseases by means of optical information; in addition, robotic vehicles designed for mechanical weeding of agricultural crops, fertilizer application, fruit harvesting, and many other digital technological solutions.<\/p>

One of the strong suits of precise agriculture, which was particularly emphasized by experts, is the optimal use of natural resources. Namely, unlike common agricultural practices, the application of precise agricultural systems, characterized by high precision and constant control, reduces the application of inputs in the cultivation of agricultural crops, such as fertilisers and pesticides, which not only reduce costs, but greenhouse emissions as a key factor for climate change as well.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Mr. Blagoja Mukanov, CEO of the company AgFutura Technologies and renowned for digital products on the domestic and foreign market, held a speech as a representative of the private consulting sector for digital agriculture. His discussion clearly represented the correlation between the tools for precise agriculture based on data collection and improvement of agricultural business positions in the global agricultural and food sector, but also what is most important for rural areas, such as agriculture through the application of IT and new modern business models which can become attractive to the young adults in the country.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

In the last conference session, the President of the National Federation of Farmers, Vaska Mojsovska, as a representative of the farmers, expressed her great satisfaction about being able to present at such a scientific conference the real challenges of applying smart technologies faced by our farmers. While in developed countries the transition from traditional to smart agriculture is rapid and intense, in our country, we are still talking about basic existential problems in villages, unresolved infrastructure issues, farmers who on average own 1.5 to 3 hectares of agricultural land and have low competitiveness and no economic power. The brain drain of young people accompanied by a reduced natural growth and population aging widens the gap and hinders the process of accepting these advanced techniques. It is therefore of utmost importance to address the main shortcomings in villages, while the introduction of the concept of smart agriculture should include all affected parties, farmers, buyers, scientific and educational organizations and public institutions.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

At the end of the conference, the moderator and project co-ordinator, Dr. Marija Gjosheva-Kovachevic, highlighted several key conclusions of the discussions:<\/p>