FAMILY FARMING - THE PIVOT OF THE SERBIAN VILLAGE AND AGRICULTURE SUSTAINABILITY WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF THE EUROPEAN UNION’S GREEN AGENDA FOR THE WESTERN BALKANS

With the first settlement of people in the territory of Serbia, in the area of the Lower Danube, on the right bank of the Danube, in the area of Lepenski Vir more than eight and a half millennia ago (around 6,700 BC), their first settlements – villages – were established, in which the newly settled population began their new life, in new conditions and a new environment. For something like this, first of all, the following were needed: 1. Living space and natural conditions – territory, land, landscape, climate, infrastructure and others, 2. Population – all ages, individually and collectively, 3. Learning and working in accordance with nature and the social framework, based on engagement, knowledge, experience, organization of work processes, the local environment and society as a whole, other factors influencing the life and work of people in the countryside and their social communities throughout history. From then on - until today, in the literature on the village and its population in Serbia, among other things, the “three basic pillars” on which they rested are highlighted (and this is still the case today), namely: 1. The village (rural) family, 2. The family (rural) agricultural household, 3. Rural relations and their social structure. Even in the modern era, the value and importance of family agricultural households for the overall life and work in villages in Serbia are undeniable. This is expressed, among other things, in the relevant local and national acts and the continuous work and life activities of the rural population in our country. They are also recognized and expressed in all other parts of the world where there are villages, agricultural activity and rural populations – from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) to the European Green Plan, the EU Green Agenda for the Western Balkans and others. In this paper, the authors seek to say a few words more about family farms, which throughout history have generally been significant pillars of the existence, maintenance and development of villages and agriculture in all parts of Serbia, including Europe and on planet Earth as a whole.