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The scope of agricultural production is to a great extent affected by volatile risks. This paper presents possibilities that financial markets provide to manage such risks. It minutely describes basic derivatives, futures and options, with a special focus on their use on agricultural commodities. The paper further describes probably the most popular futures -- weather futures. Furthermore, the authors deal with complex and cross-hedging strategies. The last section brings the analysis of possibilities of establishing a derivatives market in Serbia. The first step towards this goal is to set up a commodity market and adopt related legislation, but also to meet other preconditions, such as to establish a licensing system, simplify trade with foreign entities, establish a system of clearing, develop a framework for extra-judicial settlement and to work on internationalisation of trade. Once these preconditions are met, it would be possible to establish an agricultural commodity derivatives trading system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The application of the latest information and telecommunication technologies is becoming inevitable in business development. Modern information technologies have been widely used in all stages of trading, from procuring, storing and handling goods, through selling and collection, to post-selling activities and costumer services, both in the wholesale and retail sector. Agriculture is an industry that, among others, has a large potential in the area of electronic commerce, and especially in the segment of web technology. In this paper we analysed several categories of web presentations - web sites that provide transaction cost savings, intermediaries on the electronic market, integrated services of electronic commerce and electronic commerce support service providers. We also systematised the benefits of using web technology. In the last section of this paper we gave the analysis of the current situation and potentials in the Republic of Serbia, giving an overview of introducing a new mobile phone technology for informing participants in the agricultural value chain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global warming majorly changes the environment and affects plant and animal species. Climate change is too abrupt for plants and animals to adapt easily. Plant and animal species respond to new conditions with adaptations in space and time, during which changes in phenological stages and migration take place. Over the last decade, plant and animal populations have been decreasing due to an unsynchronized response of co-dependent species to climate change. When there is a mutually-dependent relationship between species with temperature-based phenological stages and species that depend on the number of sunshine hours, a change in the temperature cycle when the cycle of sunlight remains the same can result in extinction of species. The paper shows the impact of climate change on change in phenological stages in general, and its indirect impact on yield and agriculture. The goal is to point out the need for analyzing effects of global warming in the Republic of Serbia in order to anticipate potential deviations from the expected and enable sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]