FOOD QUALITY & SAFETY WITHOUT COMPROMISE

Belchim is a European company that has a knowledge base from the most agriculturally developed countries in Europe, such as Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Italy and Germany. The company's aim is to ensure that ever more agricultural producers in Serbia have access to their innovative plant protection products

Through its SMART Crop Protection™ programme, for intelligent, i,e. Pre cise, plant protection, Belchim has harmonised its programme with all increasingly rigorous environmental and safety standards. It invests in the development of new products through experiments that it conducts everywhere, both in Serbia and around the world.

•Your objective is to be part of the production of better quallity and safer food. How healthy and high quality is the food we eat today? - The production of better quality and saf er food starts with us, that is with plant protection, because we believe that plant protection solutions must be tested, safe and available to every agricultural producer, on the one hand, while at the same time all of us consumers of that same food must be convinced that we are consuming safe food. Although we operate across Europe and around the world, we don’t believe that there are universal solutions for all markets. Our solutions are the result of many decades of monitoring and researching in real condi tions, because plant protection is a dynamic area of agriculture that requires an holistic approach, rapid adaptation and flexibility.

Our ultimate goal is to be a part of the production of better quality and safer food. With an understanding for the needs of local markets, with a team of dedicated people, we professionally help producers achieve good yields and high-quality produce.

• How can new, modern and technologically superior solutions be made more accessible to every agricultural producer, whether they are the owner of thousands of hectares or a

Belchim works constantly to make its products increasingly safer, through so-called biological. i.e. ecological, solutions

small family farm? - Belchim develops professional solutions in all branches of plant production: viticulture, fruit, vegetable and field production. For us there are no small and large market segments or small and large producers, rather only optimal solutions that can help make our country’s agriculture more competitive. The specificity of Belchim’s development is in constantly identifying new solutions and adapting. This year, with our Japanese and European partners, we’ve also introduced several new products

to our market, which will soon represent the standard in plant protection. We are working to make our products increasingly safer, through so-called biological. i.e. ecological, solutions.

• We can’t be an agrarian force as a nation, but we could achieve much more than we are at present, right? - Agriculture is the branch of the economy that we relied on for centuries when times were difficult. That is also the case now, during the time of the COVID-19 pandemic. We all need to work more intelligently, each in their own field. Smart agriculture starts with smart plant protection, which is promoted by our company.

On the basis of many quality people in the field of agriculture that I met across Europe, I think Serbia has everything it needs for success, both in terms of knowledge and experience, and that it only needs to monitor world trends and accept those technologies that can help in achieving high yields. In Serbia there are already existing serious producers and companies that have already reached the very top, with their excellent yields and product quality. Our role is to share knowledge and connect people as much as possible, doing everything in our power to help that section of producers who are able to advance. Only in that way can we rely on average yields being better. We see this as a huge challenge. ■