Serbia Digital Development Country Profile
Analysis of the nation’s digital development
Description
The “Serbia Digital Development Country Profile" is a part of the ITU Office for Europe’s regional effort to provide a comparative analysis of the digital transformation of priority countries in the European region, namely Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Ukraine. The report analyses the status of the nation’s digital transformation based on the experiences of ITU, the UN specialized agency for ICTs, and other UN organizations, offering a broad overview of the activities and projects being implemented at a national level and in the wider region. The report describes the status of digital development in Serbia according to three building blocks: 1) access 2) adoption and 3) value creation. The Access block includes a description of the present state of the nation’s digital infrastructure; the Adoption block addresses digital inclusion issues; and the Value creation block describes the management and administration of digital services in the country, as well as the status of digital agriculture. The report provides a detailed overview of the digital agricultural sector in Serbia with focus on the available digital services for land administration, legislation, food production, crop monitoring, early prediction of yield, land management and managing requests for incentives in agriculture, and it details the digitization services related to education, health and e-waste management.
Technology
The framework assessment outlines various technological advancements and initiatives in Serbia’s digital development landscape. For Block 1- Access, it highlights the country’s focus on 5G networks, Smart City projects, advancements in mobile network technologies like LTE/WiMAX, cybersecurity measures and e-government services for the enhancement of digital governance. For Block 2- Adoption, the report includes references to Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, Blockchain, Internet of Things, Robots and Drones, 3D Printing, Virtual and Mixed Reality, and Digital Economy and E-waste management initiatives, the latter based on generating statistics and promoting practices in handling electronic waste. Additional technologies are also described in Block 2: 1) BioSense’s “AgroSense,” a digital platform launched in 2017 that is used by 20,000 local farmers to monitor crop status; 2) the Plant-O-Meter device, that emits light that is reflected by plants, and provides a precise assessment of their health status, with data sent via Bluetooth to the farmer’s smartphone, together with the GPS location of the sample; 3) Krivaja DOO, which supports precision agriculture; 4) AgroNET, which improves production output; and 5) eAgrar, facilitating the online registration of agricultural holdings and requests for incentives in agriculture.
Target
The main target users of the ITU Digital Development Country Profile report include public and private stakeholders and decision-makers at a national level in the priority countries for ITU, as well as international stakeholders involved in the digital development. Civil society organizations, academia and startups can benefit from the provided information in support of the further development of digitization initiatives. The report can also serve as a support tool for the GovTech team for the promotion of collaborations between the public sector and tech startups.
Impact
The report is aimed to serve as a baseline study in support of strategic decisions related to initiatives under the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) related to digital and ICT development matters, supporting digital development in Serbia. It aims to help stakeholders make informed decisions regarding policies, investments and strategies related to ICTs, and to enhance the dialogue and facilitate collaborations between government entities, private sector organizations, civil society groups and international partners. It should thus facilitate more coordinated and effective efforts in achieving the digital transformation, setting realistic targets, learning from best practices and adopting successful strategies from peer countries.
Partners
United Nations Serbia Country Team
Four Betters
Better production
Better life
