The Youth Rural Business Fund was launched  on November 3rd, 2022, to help senior students of the Ljubo Mićić Secondary Farming School in Požega. The fund will be used to help young farmers from the Zlatibor District enhance their farms and make them more profitable.

Fewer and fewer young Serbians are willing to stay on their family farms and make a living in agriculture. As a consequence, enrollment has been declining at most of the country’s farming schools.

To motivate young people to modernize their holdings, and find ways of making farming profitable, we have partnered with the Požega, Užice, and Gornji Milanovac local authorities and the Ana and Vlade Divac Foundation to set up the  Youth Rural Business Fund.

The financing is aimed at senior students of the Ljubo Mićić Secondary Farming School in Požega, attended by young people from across the Zlatibor District. The aspiring farmers will receive mentoring in how to develop business plans and apply for grants to help them purchase the agricultural machinery needed for their farms.

The fund is currently worth 2.8 million dinars, with more local authorities in the district expected to join. Two additional funds are planned to be set up over the coming three years.

One key aspect in training future farmers is educating them in what finance is available and motivating them to enhance their holdings and apply for other subsidies. This helps them improve their production methods, launch their first entrepreneurial endeavors, develop market-ready products, and stay on their farms.

Found out more at:

• Grants, training help students grow their farms