 |
|
[an error occurred while processing this directive]
|
|
|
|
|
|
AGROPRESS Announces the Year of Women in Agribusiness
At its fourth anniversary celebration, the Association of Agricultural Journalists (AGROPRESS) continued its tradition of recognizing the two best journalists covering the agricultural sector and selecting one new honorary member. The association’s 2008 award for the most engaged journalists went to Marina Cenić, BETA News Agency journalist, and the award for most engaged young journalist went to Aleksandar Radoviż, Radio Belgrade. Both received vouchers in the amount of 20,000 RSD and certificates of appreciation. USAID Deputy Mission Director Marilynn Schmidt was chosen as an honorary member of the Association.
AGROPRESS is a non-governmental organization which counts more than fifty journalists and fifty companies as its members. The Association endeavors to better of the work of journalists that report about agriculture and to inform the rural population about issues related to agriculture through seminars, lectures, workshops and through the media.
 |
| Marilynn Schmidt, USAID Deputy Mission Director hands over the AGROPRESS award to Marina Cenić, BETA agency journalist. |
In cooperation with USAID, AGROPRESS will launch the Rural Women’s’ Education Project, aimed at improving the socioeconomic situation among members of this group. ”There are 260,000 households in Serbia with an average age of 50,” noted AGROPRESS Director Nikitović Stojičić. “Many of them have not started a family, and statistics say that in 10 years one out of every four villages in Serbia will simply disappear. All of this inspired us to give our minds to women in agribusiness in the coming year”.
Addressing the gathering, Schmidt noted that increased agricultural productivity is an important goal for USAID both in Serbia and globally. “More than a billion people today live on less than a dollar a day, and about 70 percent of these people live in rural areas. No country in the world has managed to make any significant progress without having invested in agricultural development first – by developing appropriate policies aimed at helping producers, by investing in new technologies and by supporting agricultural outreach and extension services and stimulating agribusinesses,” she said. Schmidt explained that strong agricultural growth has been an important factor in all countries that have successfully reduced poverty and that Serbia is a country with tremendous potential in agriculture, much of which is, unfortunately, still untapped. In order to address this, she announced that USAID is investing $24.5 million in Serbia through its Agribusiness Project to improve agricultural productivity, expand value-added agricultural processing and to help open new markets for exports.
Congratulating AGROPRESS on its fourth anniversary, Assistant Minister of Agriculture, Miloš Milovanović, announced that the Ministry will whenever possible support any initiative aimed at fostering agricultural production in Serbia and expressed support for AGROPRESS’s initiative for the priority adoption of laws related to agriculture.
Back to Top ^ |
