ECOBREED participatory trials for organic soybean production in Serbia

Abstract

Due to the rising demand for organic food products and increased availability of organic products, global production of organically grown crops has increased. In 2020, organic agriculture was practised in 187 countries worldwide, on 72.3 million ha of agricultural land by at least 3.1 million farmers. The area of organically managed soybean worldwide was 644 323 ha. Soybean production is of great importance since the soybean grain is used in various industries, including human as well as animal nutrition and pharmaceutical production. Soybean has a special place in organic cultivation because it brings different agronomic benefits to farmers and it is considered a niche product for feed and food use. Furthermore, soybean is primarily a climate-smart crop that conserves soil fertility for increased productivity of other important field crops, and its place in organic production is very valuable. The importance of soybean comes from the exceptionally favorable grain chemical composition (≈40% protein, ≈20% lipids). Soybeans are relatively easy to produce under organic conditions due to available production technology. One of the most important tasks for farmer is to select soybean varieties for specific production conditions.