- SOURCE OF FUNDING: CEI Technical Cooperation Programme (CEI Fund at the EBRD)
- COUNTRY OF OPERATIONS:. Regional (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Serbia)
- SECTOR OF OPERATIONS: Agribusiness
- VALUE: 120,000 EUR
- PLANNED DURATION: 24 months
- EXPECTED RELATED INVESTMENT: Not applicable
BACKGROUND
Agriculture plays a vital role in the Western Balkans, both socially and in terms of employment. It is made up of small, fragmented farming units but also of high-quality food with a lot of potential. This makes it difficult for producers to compete on quantities and costs, yet there are opportunities for producers (including youth) to promote the region’s highly specific and traditional food products (including products with Geographical Indication labels (GIs). A way forward is to build on the region’s competitive advantage of quality and specificity, as a driver for more added value in agri-food production, higher incomes for local producers and generally more inclusive value chains. Promoting high value-added products in the agricultural sector can be in the interest of all sector participants - smaller producers in rural areas, larger agribusiness companies (e.g. processors and food retail), as well as HORECA (Hotel/Restaurant/Café) players. The latter can play a key role in the marketing of high-end food products and lead processes such as the development of origin-based and quality labels. The EBRD has a long established cooperation (1994) with the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) to leverage the two organisations’ core strengths including a Framework Agreement for the provision of expertise in the agricultural and food processing sectors. In this framework, the EBRD and the FAO plan to strengthen the inclusion of local producers in the region’s agri-food value chains through the promotion of high-quality food products in domestic markets. Activities will focus on inclusive private sector development, such as supporting young farmers, entrepreneurship and food processing that leverages the system of traditional local knowledge on food and agriculture. The project will involve relevant private sector companies, including EBRD clients and SMEs throughout the region, relevant producer and tourism associations, with the aim to support the promotion and marketing of high-quality traditional foods (including GIs) to the HORECA and tourism sectors
OBJECTIVES AND SCOPE OF WORK
Specific activities envisaged under the programme are:
• Capacity building for producers on business planning and management, packaging, branding and event promotion (e.g. local festivals) and/or gastronomic roads and travel tours, to promote specific products/value chains in tourism markets. Targeted products can include existing GIs as well as other traditional products enjoying good reputation, such as herbs or berries.
• Capacity building for HORECA and food retail managers on supporting local backward linkages with their suppliers and inclusive sourcing of traditional quality products (including sector/product specifications, what is required in terms of food safety and hygiene, how to promote and market local products, how to build relationships with local producers etc.).
• A mobile phone application developed and piloted in Montenegro in collaboration with rural tourism associations to link local consumers and tourists to producers offering gastronomy and/or agri-tourism products (e.g. food products, food/farming experiences, classes etc.). This will be linked to capacity building activities on packaging and labelling for direct sales, and targeted to benefit young farmers and producers.
• Support for consolidating emerging voluntary quality labels such as the SQL (Serbia Quality Label) in the meat sector and its expansion to other sectors (tentatively egg production, dairy and fruit and vegetable processing).
• Support for companies and producer associations in the promotion and marketing of GI/high-quality products and in certification and sustainable practices, including good agricultural practices, animal welfare, etc. to improve retail market access and build consumers’ confidence.
INVESTMENT LINKS
This technical assistance is linked to current and potential investments with a number of EBRD clients in the following sectors: fruit/vegetable production and processing, meat processing, and potentially others.