Opportunities for sustainable production of energy crop miscanthus in Serbia

Bioenergy crops represent potential which lowers the country’s dependence on oil imports and the emission of CO2 and contributes to the economic rural development. Miscanthus giganteus is the second generation agro energy crop suitable for cultivation in small agricultural households. The aim of this paper is to determine the economic advantages and limitations of M. giganteus production compared to the conventional production of maize in a small household in Serbia. The data are based on real yields achieved in the field during a nine-year experiment as well as prices from 2018. The experiment was carried out ona farm household which traditionally produces maize on the low fertility land with the use of their own basic machinery and storage space. Miscanthus production made for at least 30% reduced expenditures and around 16% higher revenues compared to maize production. Significant obstacles to the production of miscanthus were identified, primarily the ones related to the underdevelopment of the biomass market in Serbia.