Guided by the increasingly pronounced needs of small agricultural producers for access to efficient and environmentally friendly solutions in agriculture—aimed at improving the sustainability and cost-effectiveness of their production—the project team, composed of relevant business entities and organizations from Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro, designed the project entitled “BIO-TAC – Development and Creation of a Pilot Solution for an Autonomous Tool Carrier for Sustainable and Bio-Intensive Vegetable Production.”
The main objective of the project is the development and market introduction of an autonomous tool carrier for use in environmentally intensive vegetable production—a solution that contributes to the promotion of sustainable agriculture, increased production efficiency, reduction of CO₂ emissions, decreased soil degradation, and preservation of biodiversity.
The project “BIO-TAC – Development and Creation of a Pilot Solution for an Autonomous Tool Carrier for Sustainable and Bio-Intensive Vegetable Production” is supported through the “EmBRACE” activity (Enhancing MSEs sustainaBle gRowth And CompEtitiveness), which is part of the Interreg VI-A IPA Croatia – Bosnia and Herzegovina – Montenegro 2021–2027 programme.
In addition to strengthening social, economic, and territorial development of the cross-border area, the mission of the Programme is to encourage and support cross-border cooperation in order to enhance the region’s resilience to shared challenges. The Programme provides support in addressing key regional disparities and contributes to reducing development gaps among the participating regions, while increasing the programme area’s capacity to recover from economic crises.
Upbeat Hub is a limited liability company founded six years ago in Montenegro by the Community Impact Accelerator – Zid, operating as a social enterprise.
Upbeat Hub focuses on developing its own products based on innovative working methods and the use of technology, as well as products that support the development of various forms of innovation in management solutions and the social and circular economy.
The Upbeat team is dedicated to supporting the development and prototyping of business ideas and their scaling through cooperation with other stakeholders.
Training staff for innovation development, technology use, and stakeholder support through skilled human resources represents one of the key pillars of the Hub’s activities.
Green Tools Tech is an organization from Croatia engaged in the conception, design, testing, and production of specialized machinery and tools primarily used in organic production, permaculture, and other forms of regenerative agriculture.
Their core specialization is the production of high-performance, human-scale tools tailored for small farms, based on the belief that small farmers need tools specifically designed for them.
They advocate for the technological sovereignty of farmers and, through the application of open-source principles, ensure access to high-quality tools without reliance on industrial monopolies.
All their products are designed and manufactured in Croatia, ensuring durability, quality, and support for local production.
The agricultural cooperative “Agronova” from Novi Grad is engaged in organized contract-based vegetable production in the Potkozarje and Podgrmeč regions.
It is a cooperative that has successfully revitalized vegetable production in the area after a long period, focusing on the cultivation of cabbage, cucumbers, red onions, potatoes, and other crops.
In addition to organizing primary production, Agronova is also involved in processing vegetables and fruits into high-quality products marketed under the “ReneSana” brand.
Looking ahead, the cooperative plans to intensify environmentally friendly production systems and develop new products.
An autonomous tool carrier developed for small and medium-scale producers seeking higher efficiency, lower costs, and sustainable production.