Capacity building of rural population through applying new knowledge in ecologically clean food production

Every society, in its urban-rural context, is faced with the problems of sustainable and balanced spatial, socio-economic and demographic development. The topic of rural development in the world in recent years becomes more important. Any consideration of the future development of Serbian society, as part of its problems, must seriously take into account the issue of rural development and prevent urban-centered development trends. Environmental, socio-economic, demographic, and any other kind of equity in the development of a society is a necessary condition for its progress. A large part of the rural population is below the poverty line, socially and in every other way excluded from social events, and agriculture, as still dominant activity in rural areas, has been in crisis for decades (Jankovic, 2007).

A rural area can have the following functions: production of food, rest and recreation, conservation and improvement of the ecological stability of the entire territory, etc. (Huber, 1988: 36) In future it will be more and more emphasized the exploitation of the potential of rural areas for non-agrarian purposes. Rural development is not just the production of goods and services for the expansion of market goods and services, but also the environment protection. Sustainable rural development is possible only with the preservation of ecological values ​​(even the improvement, if possible) of rural areas. Thus, the basic principles of sustainable development put agriculture farmers and other rural residents in the position of protectors of nature. It can be seen from the following principles:

• Integration of the development of nature in the development of agricultural production,
• Minimizing the use of externalities and non-renewable inputs,
• Full participation of farmers and other rural people in decision-making processes related to sustainable development,
• Greater use of local farmers knowledge and practices and
• Increasing social goods provided in rural areas (Đekić, 2000: 57).

Elements of competitiveness are many and depend on the context of each area individually. The main long-term objective of the development policy observed this way is the increase of widely understood quality of life in rural areas, creating jobs for the rural population, the integration of the area into a wider social system (health, education, cultural institutions), the creation of a network of relationships and cooperation of all stakeholders from government and public sector to private enterprise, NGOs and local associations. The aim is to mobilize local actors, local partnerships and active participation of interested individuals, social groups and institutions for better implementation of the endogenous potentials of the areas.

Social capital and capacity building of rural areas population

Rural areas represent a place of life and work of rural population, but on the other hand, they today assume a number of new functions. Specificity of development problems in rural areas varies depending on the particular social context in which they are being studied. This social context is conditioned by the development of every global society, the degree of its socio-economic development, the structure of the entire social system and the problems that every global society is facing. In the context of the development of rural areas, the problems that dominate are largely under the influence of the development of agriculture and rural economy. Rural areas are usually faced with the issue of isolation, social exclusion, transport and infrastructure incoherence, institutional non-development and the issue of diversification of the rural economy, which is to provide a place of employment of the rural population.

The comparative advantage of an area is reflected in the attractiveness of rural areas for the realization of opportunities for job creation, investment in infrastructure construction, local entrepreneurship and investment in small and medium-sized businesses, manufacturing facilities, the strategies for development of tourism, attractiveness of the area as a place of residence, and recreation and leisure and so on. Regional development policy should not encourage those activities that include maintaining the existing economic structure of the region no matter how much it makes them economically  and developmental non-competitive, all for the sake of preserving social peace and social security of its people. The focus of regional development in terms of free market economy should be to strengthen the competitiveness of the region. This means that measures of that policy at local, regional and national level should make the region developmentally prosperous. With those actions it is necessary to activate the developmental potentials of the region, to take advantage of local sources of investment, incorporate the economy of the region in the national economy as a whole, and so on. It is particularly important that these measures make the region attractive for capital inflows from other parts of the country (especially the economically developed), and foreign investments.