I appreciate this analysis of the situation in Serbia – with many small-scale farmers still at work, it’s certainly not as bleak as elsewhere in Europe.
As for what can be done to make small-scale farming an attractive profession and to achieve food sovereignty in Serbia, I have a different take. It starts from not counting on any government support, because government is usually captive to the influence of the lobbyists with the piles of cash. And, I also think it’s useless to appeal to the conscience or foresight of consumers: often, they go for the cheapest food, produced by Big Ag companies, because they don’t have money for more. Neoliberal markets are pushing consumers hard everywhere, and foresight for them would rather mean to save up for a rainy day than to support a local food system with uncertain outcomes.
Instead, what I propose is a solution that, from the start, benefits everyone and achieves a localized food sovereignty. I assume many farmers on small farms in Serbia are already part-time farmers as they have to supplement their income from other sources. In such a situation, one could try to persuade a group of ~20 such farmers to become a food-sovereign unit. Each of them would specialize somewhat, which makes production more time-efficient compared to a case where everyone grows everything they need for themselves. And then they use a system of circular bartering to help each other out. Later, handicrafts people etc. can also join such a system, forming a local economy that is sheltered from any competition with Big Ag.
I have written about the economic properties of such a circular barter system at length (you can search for “PayCoupons” here on the platform, which is the name of the prototype circular barter system we created). It’s basically a deadlock resolver: people who were outcompeted by big ag companies and sitting at home idle can just as well re-start their small-scale farming and trade with others who were outcompeted in the same way. Compared to not being able to supply for oneself in a big ag dominated economy, a “less efficient” local economy of small farms is certainly preferable, as everyone will be able to make their own living.