Recent developments across Serbia’s production and innovation landscape point to the same broader trend: competitiveness is increasingly being shaped by standardisation and smarter decision-making. From uniform seedling production and tighter mycotoxin control to fresh investment in Serbian hardware innovation, the message is clear: stronger systems are becoming just as important as stronger products.
Beeld: Illustration by D.R.
Grow Rasad: standardising the start of vegetable production
Grow Rasad has positioned itself as a specialised seedling producer serving vegetable growers in both protected cultivation and open-field production. Built on Serbian and Dutch capital, equipment and know-how, the company focuses on one of the most critical stages in horticulture: delivering uniform, high-quality seedlings with strong production potential.
Its approach is based on controlled conditions and technical consistency. By using a modern facility to create stable microclimatic conditions, Grow Rasad aims to ensure that seedlings reach transplanting in strong condition, with the potential for more even growth, earlier development and higher yields. The company works with seed suppliers across the Serbian market and can provide seed for a broad range of vegetable hybrids, while its sowing technology supports multiple seedling formats tailored to growers’ production schedules and needs. However, with clients across the Western Balkans and other markets, border delays remain a challenge, as they can compromise both the condition of these living organisms and their delivery at the right time.
For professional producers, the value lies not only in the planting material itself, but also in the support behind it. Grow Rasad offers container seedlings, peat cubes and rockwool cubes, backed by agronomic advice on irrigation, nutrition and crop protection. The broader takeaway is simple: in modern vegetable production, better results often begin with a more standardised start.
Beeld: Illustration by D.R.
From feed risk to milk safety: aflatoxin control in focus
ProGnosis Biotech’s conference on “Aflatoxin B1 and M1: challenges and prevention in livestock and dairy industry” brought one of the dairy chain’s most pressing food-safety issues into sharp focus: how to detect risk early, interpret results correctly and prevent contamination before it becomes a production, compliance or market problem.
What made the event particularly relevant was its full-chain perspective. The programme moved from predicting raw milk contamination with aflatoxin M1 in Serbia and improving sampling and result interpretation, to LC-MS/MS analysis, remediation through additives, dairy-sector challenges, and monitoring solutions for aflatoxins and antibiotic residues. It was not simply a discussion about toxins, but about decision-making across the chain, from feed and farm conditions to testing protocols and dairy processing.
The topic is especially timely. AFM1 appears in milk and dairy products from animals fed with AFB1-contaminated feed, while climate pressures are increasing mycotoxin risks across Europe, particularly in southern Europe and the Balkans. In Serbia, the issue is gaining urgency. The current regulation allows a maximum AFM1 concentration of 0.25 μg/kg in raw and heat-treated milk until 30 November 2026, after which Serbia will align with the EU threshold of 0.05 μg/kg from 1 December 2026. In that context, faster diagnostics, stronger sampling discipline and better feed-risk management are no longer optional technical improvements, but operational necessities. The conference’s core message was clear: mycotoxin control is no longer just a laboratory issue, but a system-wide priority.
Beeld: Illustration by D.R.
Smartsy secures fresh capital for expansion
Animal welfare and well-being are highly valued in the Netherlands, and Serbian startup Smartsy is building a solution that reflects this growing priority. The company develops smart dog houses equipped with temperature control and camera monitoring, allowing pet owners to leave their dogs safely and responsibly at store entrances while shopping.
Smartsy has already planned installations at multiple locations in Vienna and is also working to introduce its solution more broadly in Austria through cooperation with retail chains, including REWE Group and BILLA. CEO Ivan Milikić said the investment represents not only financial support, but also validation that the product has the potential to become a standard in pet-friendly retail infrastructure.
The company recently secured a EUR 500,000 investment on the Austrian show 2 Minuten 2 Millionen, gaining backing from investor Alexander Schütz. According to the Serbian Chamber of Commerce, the funds will be used to accelerate Smartsy’s expansion, particularly into the markets of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.
Smartsy is being developed within the SEE UP accelerator under the Center for Digital Transformation of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce. For Serbia’s broader innovation ecosystem, this investment is another signal that locally developed hardware solutions can attract international attention and compete successfully beyond the domestic market.