Why Are Electric Tractors Not Likely to Take Root in Serbia Any Time Soon?

A tractor which runs on batteries, does not let out exhaust gases, makes no noise and can be used for irrigation and charging of electric pumps is an invention of Ivan Jovanov, Nikola Popov and Dalibor Markovic. Their Idvorsky Electric was first presented back in 2016 in the final of the Global Entrepreneurship Summit at the Stanford University.

– We didn’t win, but we don’t feel defeated in any way. This time, we were only able to offer our idea, a vision of something that can and, we hope, will change the world one day. We will need a lot more knowledge, effort, crazy courage and luck to make our electric tractor come alive – they said on their Facebook page at the time.

Six years later, Serbia still doesn’t have its electric tractor, but this field is only just starting to develop in other countries as well, even among the most famous brands. John Deere has thereby presented a fully electric autonomous tractor, and Fendt has announced production activities. The Turkish company ZY Electric Tractor has developed a fully electric tractor, whereas Auga and Minsk presented hybrid tractors.

Not likely to take root any time soon

As the secretary general of the Business Association of Importers and Exporters of Agricultural Mechanization, Marko Stojanovic, says for eKapija, when it comes to electric tractors, in addition to their low power, that is, the fact that they are designed for utility activities, park maintenance and other purposes in urban areas, their presence in agriculture is very low:

– They are now appearing in certain production activities in protected spaces and some organic production properties, but more for exploratory purposes.

He adds that the use of electric tractors in agriculture, as well as the justifiability of their use, are still in question and that there aren’t many answers.

– Solutions with purely electric drives that are available now are of low power, and agricultural operations require a certain traction force. Also, it should be considered that, although these tractors have zero gas emission, on the other hand, they use batteries, whose production process, among other things, uses lithium, whose exploitation is not environmentally friendly – our interviewee says.

On the other hand, he says that attention should also be paid to the way the electrical energy which is used for the charging of the batteries is produced. The fact of the durability of batteries in tractors should also be taken into consideration, as should be the way they are disposed of or recycled after their life cycle ends, which is not yet fully solved and is certainly not in line with ecological requirements.



– All in all, the use of electric tractors in agriculture, especially in Serbia, is not likely to take root any time soon – Stojanovic believes.

In addition to the fact that it is a big investment, another problem for agriculturists is the lack of infrastructure, that is, high-power chargers, as well as the expected increase in the price of electrical energy.

– It is certain that there are those who have considered electric tractors, but that is not the kind of choice that would bring them security in operations at the moment – eKapija’s interviewee says.

He adds that, when such tractors are being purchased, the state should also work on the development of the infrastructure and incentives.

Electrification of farming fields

When we asked the Ministry of Agriculture whether any contests were planned regarding this, we didn’t get an answer, and we were also interested to learn whether the electrification of farming fields could be brought into connection with the potential use of electric tractors.

To clarify, the electrification of farming properties, which has already taken root in the Leskovac area, on Fruska Gora and in Srbobran, is meant for a cheaper irrigation of the crops. Last year, the public call for subsidies for the electrification of farming fields was published.

Aleksandra Kekic

Poslovno udruženje uvoznika i izvoznika poljoprivredne mehanizacije Novi Sad

IDVORSKY ELECTRIC DOO Beograd

Ministarstvo poljoprivrede, šumarstva i vodoprivrede Republike Srbije

PU Uvoznika i izvoznika poljoprivredne mehanizacije

Business Association of Importers and Exporters of Agricultural Mechanization

Idvorsky Electric

Ministry of Agriculture of Serbia

John Deere

Fendt

ZY Eletric Tractor

Auga

Minsk

Ivan Jovanov

Nikola Popov

Dalibor Marković

Marko Stojanović

tractor

electric tractor

battery powered tractor

electric autonomous tractor

hybrid tractor

Global Entrepreneurship Summit at the Stanford University

electrification of farming fields