Modern Biotechnological Approach to Solving the Problem of Drought in Agricultural of Serbia (31005)

Head of the project: Radmila Stakić, PhD

Duration of the project: 2011-2020

Agriculture in Serbia is already threatened by drought, and further increases in temperature and aridity are forecast. The project introduces a multidisciplinary approach and modern biotechnologies in examining the effects of drought and its economic consequences. The research of subproject 1 (Improving drought resistance of major agricultural and vegetable crops using modern biotechnological methods) will integrate aspects of the most modern biotechnological methods (proteomics, phenomics, functional genomics, molecular markers) and conventional selection to improve the drought resistance of wheat and tomato and create resistant varieties. Within sub-project 2 (Improvement of reduced irrigation methods in order to increase the efficiency of water use of cultivated plants and product quality) it is planned to improve the use of deficit irrigation methods for potatoes and tomatoes and to introduce biological methods for regulating irrigation. Subproject 3 (Economic consequences of drought on agricultural production and competitiveness of products on the market) will examine the economic consequences of drought on agricultural production, and evaluate the economic effects of investments in the development of new varieties, alternative crops and new irrigation technologies. These data, together with others, will be used to create a GIS database and a map of drought-prone areas. The project is based on expertise and international cooperation achieved through the implementation of 3 FP6 and the preparation of 3 FP7 projects. The continuation of international cooperation with 3 EU institutions is planned in the project.