One of the key factors for success of sustainable tourism industry in all areas, including rural, is the support of community members. The paper aims to analyze how rural residents’ perceptions of sustainable tourism development (expressed through economic, social, environmental, and physical benefits) can affect residents’ intentions to support tourism. The second aim was to determine if attachment to the particular community and perceived quality of life can have influence on attitudes towards sustainable development of tourism in rural communities. Using a sample of 881 residents living in rural areas of the Republic of Serbia, the results highlighted that perceived values of tourism were important for evaluating how tourism is developed, if it is sustainable for a community, and how it affects quality of residents’ life. The study provided better understanding of factors that can have impact on residents’ attitudes in relation to tourism and highlighted the importance of paying attention to local community as significant player for tourism development, especially in those regions that want to boost its economy by developing sustainable tourism.

Local producers constitute a crucial segment of the local economy, playing a pivotal role in driving rural development and the progress of tourism. Their avenues for showcasing products extend beyond markets, bazaars, or food events, often being integrated into a destination’s tourism offerings. Moreover, they contribute to the culinary progress within tourism. Originating from wider rural areas or nearby villages, local producers significantly impact everyday migrations, services, and financial transactions in relationships spanning suburban–urban, village–town, and cross-border cooperation. This study aims to scrutinize the social facets of the organization and work of local producers, offering insights into contemporary market processes. It also serves to illustrate cross-border cooperation and the role of culinary tourism in local business. Through qualitative data processing, we will delve into the outcomes of cross-border projects, emphasizing ethical and sustainable values rooted in territory, landscape, local culture, authenticity, and the application of culinary elements in tourism. The results will shed light on the economic, social, and cultural ramifications on markets in border regions, influencing daily life and the economy. This study will define key aspects of rural development. These research findings can inform local governments, the economy, and communities in future strategic planning for developing this market segment. Tourism, especially in hospitality, will empower rural communities to enhance financial inflow and create local employment opportunities, such as roles for vineyard tour guides or local chefs. Simultaneously, it will bolster other sectors of the local economy, such as agriculture.

Bosnia and Herzegovina has responded to the COVID-19 pandemic by implementing quarantine and other social distancing measures. These measures, however, have mental, social, and economic consequences on diet and food behaviors. The Bosnian case is particularly pertinent since the country has one of the highest global mortality rates relative to its population. In addition, its health system is fragmented and under-resourced. Consequently, in this study, we analyze the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on Bosnians’ behaviors relating to food. It is based on an online survey performed during October–November 2020 with 3133 adult respondents. The statistical analysis encompassed descriptive statistics (means, percentages, and frequencies), as well as cluster analysis. The results reveal that the pandemic transformed consumers’ shopping behaviors and food sourcing, reducing shopping frequency and increasing food bought on each trip. Furthermore, there was an increase in the consumption of local food items due to food safety concerns. Additionally, the pandemic improved the awareness of Bosnians towards food with a decrease in food waste. Regarding diets, Bosnians tried to have healthier diets during the pandemic. Therefore, COVID-19 might have opened a ‘window of opportunity’ to promote the shift towards more sustainable food consumption and lifestyles.

Household food waste (FW) has huge environmental and socio-economic impacts. During the COVID-19 pandemic, a survey was carried out in North Macedonia to explore perceptions and attitudes towards FW at the household level. A self-administered questionnaire was available online from 15th of May until June 30, 2020 and the sample size was 754. A very high percentage of the respondents (94.16%) expressed a high awareness of food waste and declared to worry about this issue trying to avoid food waste as much as possible. Moreover, the results showed that 41.38% of the respondents think to waste a low amount of food while 27.98% state not to throw almost anything. Meanwhile, 52.39% of the respondents believe that they do not throw away food that is still consumable. About 22.54% of them think to throw less than 250 g followed by those who think to throw between 250 and 500 g (18.04%). The survey showed that the most wasted food groups are cereals and bakery products, fruit, vegetables, and milk and dairy products. Concerning economic value, most of the respondents (53.18%) believe to spend less than 5 EUR on food wasted while 42.04% of them think to spend between 5 and 25 EUR. Regarding shopping behaviour during COVID-19, only about a half of the respondents (48.28%) stated to go shopping like they used to do. The respondents declared that they have bought during COVID-19 more vegetables (72.30%) and fruits (68.60%), which might imply that they are moving towards healthier diets. It seems that food wastage has increased during the COVID-19 for about a third of the respondents (34.70%). The survey showed that the COVID-19 pandemic affected food purchase, wastage and consumption behaviours in North Macedonia. Such a finding should inform future policies and initiatives relating to agriculture, food and health during the recovery period.

Stockpiling and panic buying are significant components of crisis- and disaster-related consumption behaviors that have gained significant media coverage during the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper aims to analyze the features of stockpiling behavior during the second wave of COVID-19 in Serbia based on a structured online questionnaire. This study seeks to answer two questions. First, what factors triggered and affected stockpiling during the COVID-19 pandemic in Serbia? Second, how does stockpiling affect other food habits and diets? A total of 851 valid responses were received. The results highlight several features of the stockpiling behavior in Serbia. First, food stockpiling behavior is influenced by some sociodemographic variables such as gender and household composition. Second, stockpiling was fueled by several negative emotions such as fear, sadness, and depression. Third, the results confirm that stockpiling in Serbia was not triggered by supply shortages but rather by consumers’ concerns of obtaining enough food and rising food prices. Finally, food stockpiling was associated with some positive changes such as eating out less (e.g., restaurants/cafeteria), eating more with their family members, and cooking more food. Analyzing and comprehending consumer food stockpiling patterns during the COVID-19 pandemic may offer policymakers imperative information for adjusting supply and response strategies during future crises.

Climate factors have an impact on plant life cycle, yield, productivity, economy and profitability of agricultural production. There are not a lot of studies on understanding of influence of climate factors variation on maize yield in agro-ecological conditions of Serbia. The aim of this paper is analysis of variation of climatic factors over a long-time period, as well as assessment of impact of the examined climate parameters on maize yield in two localities in the Republic of Serbia. For the analysis of climatic factors (temperature, precipitation, sunshine, humidity) in the region of Central Serbia and Vojvodina, the data of meteorological stations Kragujevac and Sombor during two thirty-year periods (1961–1990 and 1991–2020) were used. In order to determine the existence and strength of the relationship between the observed climatic factors and maize yield, a correlation analysis of these indicators for the period 2005–2020 years, was performed. In the period 1991–2020, the average values of temperature were annually increased for 0.046 °C in Kragujevac and for 0.05 °C in Sombor, and in the same period the average value of sunshine on an annual level was increased for 1.3 h in Kragujevac and for 5.01 h in Sombor, 2020 in comparison to average values in period of 1961–1990. The humidity was decline annually for 1.3 in Kragujevac and for 3.4 in Sombor in period 1991–2020 in comparison to average humidity in period of 1961–1990. The results of the correlation analysis showed that the maize yield was significantly lower in the years with expressed high temperatures and precipitation deficit. Based on these studies, established effect of climate change on maize yield and that this demand developing adaptation agricultural practice through creating maize hybrids and varieties with greater adaptability and improvement of agrotechnic measure.