In Italian Palace in Belgrade, in period from 04th to 07th October 2010, was held the first Summer School on: „Perspectives on the agro-food sector in Serbia and the western Balkans – developing new approaches and models, with an overview on Italian best practice“

organized by the Italian embassy office. The experts from Italy and the region were given full overview of the best experiences in agricultural-food sector, which could implement in future agriculture development of Serbia and surrounding countries. This seminar was dedicated to the following themes:

• Legal and institutional framework in agricultural sector of West Balkan,
• Funding possibilities of agricultural-food sector in the countries of West Balkan toward European integrations,
• Politics and experiences in food certification and geographic origin protection,
• Certification, marketing and export into the European Union through the models and examples of pre-accessing countries,
• Food safety in West Balkan countries,
• Possibilities of rural development through a confiscation of land and property, owned by criminal groups,
• Politics and structural reforms of agricultural-food sector in West Balkan countries.

The presentations within the First Summer School had selected and eminent experts in the field of agricultural-food sector, as representatives of state administration, scientific institutions and companies. The Institute of Agricultural Economics, as one of the leading scientific institutions in the field of agricultural-food sector had even three speakers, so the students of the Summer School had an opportunity to listen the lectures of:

• Director of the Institute of Agricultural Economics, Prof. Drago Cvijanovic, PhD, who introduced the students with basis of rural development and regional dissimilarities in Serbia,
• Bojana Bekić, research-associate in the Institute of Agricultural Economics, which had represented the institute's experience in realization and implementation of TECH.FOOD project, regarding solutions and interventions for technological transfer and innovations of food sector in regions of south-east Europe,
• As well as lectures of M.A. Ivan Djuric, who had represented, together with German institute Leibniz Institute of Agricultural Development in Central and Eastern Europe, a part of the research related to agrarian policy measures in Serbia, during global food crisis in 2007-2008, and therefore introduced the students more detailed about a situation of wheat trade in Serbia (applied measures and learned lessons).

The importance of such expansion of knowledge in the field of agricultural-food sector confirmed, by their participation, also the minister of agriculture, forestry and water management, Saša Dragin, PhD, as well as the minister's assistant, Miloš Milovanović.

The Institut of Agricultural Economics had also its representatives among the students of the First Summer School, where took part M.A. Predrag Vukovic, Marko Jelocnik and Svetlana Roljevic.