Economic Aspects of Agricultural Mechanization Utilization in Serbia

Abstract

As an important production factor and an element of the fixed capital, mechanization has significant role in the process of agricultural production. Its importance has both technical and socio-economic character, as the tractors and other agricultural machinery had radically changed rural life as well as the way of land cultivation – they increased labour productivity in agricultural production and decreased the operating costs. In the preparation period for integration of our country into the European countries' family, technical equipping of agriculture has reflected the basic component important for functionality of the new agrarian structures. Replacement of depreciated mechanization and provision of enough high-performance tractors as well as other modern agricultural machinery necessary for the farms (both in direct way or in an indirect one – through different forms of financing, cooperation and mutual support), represent determinants for undisturbed and in-time implementation of agricultural in-field operations as well as other activities in crop and livestock production. In this paper the authors try to display the basic economic aspects of agricultural mechanization utilization in Serbia as well as to compare existing situation with the similar one in neighbouring countries (area of ex-SFRJ), then with the Central and Eastern Europe countries (CEE) and finally with some EU countries (EU-15). In addition to that, this analysis includes the basic characteristics of agrarian policy aiming at agricultural mechanization recovery and improvement in Serbia, as well as the support of this policy (supporting financial resources for recovery of agricultural equipment and mechanization as well as for rural improvement).

Kao važan proizvodni faktor i element fiksnog kapitala, mehanizacija ima značajnu ulogu u procesu poljoprivredne proizvodnje. Njen značaj ima kako tehnički, tako i društveno-ekonomski karakter, budući da su traktori i poljoprivredne mašine radikalno izmenile život na selu i način obrade zemljišta - povećale su produktivnost rada u poljoprivrednoj proizvodnji i smanjile troškove eksploatacije. U pripremnom periodu za integraciju naše zemlje u porodicu evropskih zemalja, tehnička opremljenost poljoprivrede reflektuje osnovnu komponentu od koje zavisi funkcionalnost novih agrarnih struktura. Zamena dotrajale mehanizacije i obezbeđenje dovoljnog broja visoko-performansnih traktora i ostalih savremenih poljoprivrednih mašina za potrebe poljoprivrednih gazdinstava (bilo direktno, bilo indirektno – kroz različite forme finansiranja, kooperacije i uzajamne pomoći), jeste determinanta za nesmetano i blagovremeno obavljanje kako poljskih, tako i ostalih radova koji prate aktivnosti u biljnoj i stočarskoj proizvodnji. U ovom radu autori nastoje da prikažu osnovne ekonomske aspekte korišćenja mehanizacije u poljoprivredi Srbije i da izvrše komparaciju sa stanjem koje u tom domenu vlada u susednim zemljama (područje bivše SFRJ), zatim u zemljama Centralne i Istočne Evrope (CIE) i najzad u jednom broju zemalja Evropske unije (EU-15). Pored toga, analizom su obuhvaćene i osnovne postavke politike obnove i unapređenja poljoprivredne tehnike u Srbiji, bazirane na merama i podsticajnim sredstvima domaće agrarne politike (podsticajna sredstva za obnovu poljoprivredne opreme i mehanizacije i podsticajna sredstva za unapređenje sela).