Integrated Regional Development in the Municipality of Suharekë/Suva Reka in the sector of Agriculture
Narrative report
1st of July 2012-31st of December 2012
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Integrated Regional Development in the Municipality of Suharekë/Suva Reka in the sector of Agriculture
Narrative report
1st of July 2012-31st of December 2012
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Project Progress Report
Contract No. 8134-01/2007
As at December, 152009
Contractor/ applicant:
Name:CARE ÖsterreichAddress:A-1080 Vienna, Lange Gasse 30/4
Phone, email: Tel.: +43 (1) 715 0 715-47
Fax: +43 (1) 715 0 715-12
E-mail:
Contact person for the action:Karoline Ohler
Project title:
Integrated Regional Development in the Municipality of Suharekë/Suva Reka in the Sector of AgricultureLocal project partner:
Name:Municipality of Suharekë/Suva Reka,Bedri Berisha, Director of Agricultural Department
St.Brigada 123 pn, 23000 Suhareke/Suva Reka
Phone, email:
Reporting period:
Reporting period:1st of July 2012- 31st of December 2012 / Report submitted on (date):
28th March 2013
Due date:28th of February 2013
(Exention due date – 29th March 2013)
Planned project duration from:
15th of December 2009 / Until:
14th of December 2014
Reallocations: / Extended until:
Summary of the project progress
From its beginning in 2009, the Integrated Regional Development project in the Municipality of Suharekë/Suva Reka, in the sector of agriculture, financed by the Austrian Development Cooperation, aimed at promoting integrated and sustainable regional development in the municipality of Suharekë/Suva Reka by strengthening existing local structures and capacities.
The activities of the project are implemented mainly in municipality of Suhareke/Suva Reka in 25 villages and also in other target municipalities of southern region of Kosovo.As in the previous reporting period, the specific sectors selected included the following: Broiler industry (including supply chain and processing);Greenhouse production of vegetables and strawberries (off-season);Cattle rearing for beef and milk;Honey and other apiculture products;Non-timber forest products (mushrooms, wild berries, medicinal herbs, etc); Viticulture.
Up to date, 36 development projects in selected sectors have been supported through the IRDS project. The total investments amount to EUR1,335,327.63, from which 70 % have been supported by the IRDS.Having in mind what has been said above, the private investments in selected sub sectors of agriculture as result of IRDS project amounted approximately to EUR 400,600. The selection of the sectors contributed to aneconomic development, with along term potential of establishing cross-municipality links, with an initial cooperation which has already started. To date, the economic actors have created more than 265 part time and full time jobs in different fields and in line with the supported sectors. In this semester, 22 part time and full time jobs have been created in the region by economic actors who have been supported by the IRDS project. More specifically, 69 full time jobs and 196 part time or seasonal jobs have been created in the region. In addition, 37 % of the jobs were created for women.
In addition, the IRDS project team has organized the IRDS I end of project conference & IRDS II launching ceremony, which was held on 6th of December 2012 in Prishtina. The conference gathered 100 participants representingthe relevant local and international organizationsactive in Kosovo in the area of agriculture and rural development. Duringthe conference, the results produced in the phase I have been presented and as well the plans for the phase II.
As a result of the provision of technical assistance from IRDS project, an agro industrial park was established in the region has been awarded funding from EU office in Kosovo. The budget, approved by the EU office in Kosovo is EUR 452,600. The project supports the economic development in the southern region of Kosovo by creating a conducive business environment, creation of employment possibilities and skills development. Besides, the project design process familiarizedthe staff of Municipal Development Centre (MDC) and LDF with EU grant rules and regulations.
It is worth noting that the Municipality of Suharekë/Suva Reka and the MDC in particular have been assisted in preparing the visibility materials for the Municipalities’ fair, organized by the Ministry of Local Government Administration.TheMunicipality of Suharekë/Suva Reka has been awarded with the first place for its unique governance structures (i.e. MDC) and waspronounced as the best Municipality in Kosovo.
In addition, the MDC Young Professional Program has been launched. Six young people (bellow 32 years old) from the municipality of Suharekë/Suva Reka, who have recently completed their studies in a relevant field (two female and four male), have been hired by the MDC since September 2012. This program is financed by the Austrian Development Cooperation and the Municipality of Suharekë/Suva Reka and will continue until December 2014.
The achievements under each expected results are presented below:
Expected Result 1:A Municipal Development Centre for the support of agriculture and related businesses is established and functioning within the Municipality of Suharekë/Suva Reka.
Since its beginning in 2009, a service-providing Municipal Development Centre (MDC) has been established and integrated in the existing structures of the Municipality of Suharekë/Suva Reka.Today, the MDC is a service-based support and information centre providing assistance primarily to farmers and agriculture-related small and medium enterprises, with the overall aim of promoting integrated and sustainable rural development in the Municipality of Suharekë/Suva Reka. To date, 2,615 local farmers have been supported through services of MDC. More specifically, throughout this reporting period, 510 farmers have benefited mainly from MDC’s technical assistance services as well as support for accessing financial assistance. This is done through trainings, workshops and seminars. In addition, the centre provided on-site consultations at farms.
The IRDS project team has developed the MDC work plan documents and a number of forms to be used by its staff members. Up to date, 30 % of the client profiles for the farmers of Suhareke/Suva Reka have been completed. This enables the MDC staff members to have the most recent information regarding their clients.
In this reporting period, 6 young professionals (two female and four male)have been hired at the two units of the MDC. The IRDS project has developed the job descriptions for each young professional and, in close cooperation with MDC and LDF, has placed them in 5 different positionswithinMDC. The positions of the 6 young professionals within the MDCarethe following: two interns for Business Support Services; one intern for Communication and Public Relations; one intern for Agriculture Economy; one intern for Marketing Research Services; and one intern for Business Support Services and Grant Management.
Expected Result 2:Municipal departments and their staff, as well as representatives of other development players in the community (NGOs, coops, associations) have the capacities necessary for promoting the integrated development of the municipality.
In this reporting period, the IRDS project has organized 6 participatory workshops/trainings in various sectors of agriculture and trained approximately 156 representatives from local authorities, local farmers, farmers associations and NGOs.
The provided trainings included: farm management training; training on business economics and business planning; farm gate training for 25 table grapes and vine grape producers of Suharekë/Suva Reka; training on viticulture; training on implementing the MDC work plans and training on human resource management and employment. In addition, 3 workshops on MDC planning were conducted.
With technical support from IRDS, the Municipal Development Centre has developed, among others the following strategies and reports: MDC annual report for 2012; MDC action plan for 2013; strategy for improving the viticulture in the Municipality of Suharekë/Suva Reka, etc.
Additionally, through a on the job training, the MDC has been supported in addressing the administration requirements for the proposal submitted to EU office in Kosovo. As result of this, the project has been awarded funding from EU office in Kosovo.
As in the previous semester, the project concentrated its resources on mentoring and coaching. The implementation of the funded projects was regularly monitored by IRDS and MDC staff. In addition, technical support has been provided at the farm gate by the MDC technical staff members and also by the IRDS project. The technical support that was given throughout this reporting period from the experts was successful for 6 vegetable producers in Municipality of Suharekë/Suva Reka. There was a deficiency of potassium in the cucumberplants, which showedat the leafs and as a result wastreated successfully. Therefore, the mentoring and coaching had a positive impact on the successful implementation of the funded projects.
The IRDS project continued its ongoing contacts with all relevant farmers association for the project domains. Hence the project has supported the vegetable and decorative plant producers association in reviewing their work plans for 2012 and designing an action plan for 2013. In addition, considering the high number of table grape and vine grape producers in Suhareka/Suva Reka, the IRDS project has initiated the establishment of the table and wine grape producers initiative of the Municipality of Suhareke/Suva Reka. This initiative has been undertaken jointly with 25 table grape and wine grape producers of Suhareke/Suva Reka.
Expected Result 3:A Local Development Fund providing grant funding to agricultural business initiatives in the Municipality is operating.
Throughout this reporting period, the LDF has been operating as a grant giving organization in the Municipality of Suhareke/Suva Reka. In this period, the second meeting of LDF board of directors washeld. The website of LDF has been continuously updated with information. The second audit of LDF Foundation has been conducted for the reporting period.
Up to date, theLDF has financed activities in the municipality of Suharekë/Suva Reka and in the southern region of Kosovo to enhance and improve agricultural production, processing and marketing of agricultural products and topromote the agricultural value chain in the region. The table below describes how the funds were allocated:
Funding Round / Period / Amount (Euro)Training for writing calls for proposals / September 2010 / 101,503.52
Local development call for proposals with an emphasis on agricultural production, processing and marketing / March 2011 / 348,056.90
Special interest call for proposals (i.e. women empowerment, environmental protection and management and minority reintegration) / July 2011 / 136,789.50
Regional development call for proposals aiming at addressing poverty and long-term unemployment through active labour market measures promoting job opportunities in the areas of agriculture and rural development. / September 2011 / 150,124.94
Special interest call for proposals on marketing, regional branding and packaging of agricultural products in Suharekë/Suva Reka and the region / March 2012 / 197,023.20
To date, 36 development projects in selected sectors have been supported through the IRDS project. Total investments amount to EUR1,335,327.63, from which 70 % were granted by the IRDS. The private investments in selected sub sectors of agriculture as result of the IRDS project amounted to approximately EUR 400,600.
To date, economic actors have created more than 265 part time and full time jobs in different fields in line with supported sectors.In this semester, 22 part time and full time jobs have been created by economic actors in the region who have been supported by the IRDS project.
The project has also contributed to women making up 37% of the local workforce
In addition, the progress of the funded projects has been tracked on monthly basis and summarized in the table bellow, under the activities section.
The progress made in the activities in the sub-sectors till December2012 is described below:
- Broiler industry (including supply chain and processing);
Throughout this period, the integrator of broiler industry in Suhareke/Suva Reka has sold approximately 35,000 broilers for EUR 2.40 per kilogram. The demand for Suhareke/Suva Reka grown/broiler in Kosovo is increasing from day to day, which enabled the integrator to utilizing its broiler rearing capacities and therefore its capacities in the slaughterhouse.
- Greenhouse production of vegetables and strawberries (off-season);
The production capacity of off-season vegetables and decorative plants has increased in southern Kosovo by an additional 3 ha as a direct result of the IRDS project. The market prices in this season were much higher than in the first season. The main reason for this market change in 2012 is that only few farmers have planted tomatoes and cucumbers due to the limited profit in 2011. Therefore, the competition was low and thereforea higher price was possible. 65 full-time jobs and 152 part-time jobs (during harvesting) were created. In total the income from this sector created on average an additional €11,300 for each farmer for the harvesting season 2012.
Moreover, through the IRDS project the production value chain of fruits and vegetables was improved by creating 800m3of cold storage facilities with other processing equipment (vacuum packaging, etc.). It is worth mentioning that in the 2012 season, as result of IRDS funded project for improving the packaging of vegetables and fruits, 300 T of fresh vegetables and fruits have been exported to Western European Countries.
- Cattle rearing for beef and milk;
As a result of LDF funding, 9 farmers in Suharekë/Suva Reka have improved their production infrastructure in cattle rearing for beef and milk and production of goat cheese. Up to date, 4.000 artificialinseminations for improving the breeding structure of dairycows havebeen supported through IRDS project.
As result of this intervention, the number of pure Simmental breed in the Municipality of Suhreke/Suva Reka has been increasedto1,108 calves. Further, the number of Simmental breeds of cattle in Municipality of Suhareke/Suva Reka has been increased by 37, due to the direct contribution of delivered 20 loans without interest for improving the breeding structure of milking cows in Suhareke/Suva Reka.An estimated additional 20self employed jobs (7 out of these for/by women) have been created, but the generated profit is still low.
- Honey and other apiculture products;
Due to the harsh winter,similarly to the previous semesters, the demand for beehives nutrition has been huge. In this reporting period, the project supported by IRDS managed to sell 11 T of beehives breads needed for the winterization of beehives. In addition, a project for producing beeswax pellets in Suharekë/Suva Reka municipality has improved the value chain of honey and other apiculture products in the region. 15 new seasonal and permanent jobs were created in this sector.
- Non-timber forest products (mushrooms, wild berries, medicinal herbs, etc)
Following the establishment of two collection points in the previous semester, approximately 15 T of herbs, pine seedlings, and berries were collected and sold from the established collection points only five months after setting up the collection points. The vast majority of the collected herbs and berries havebeen exported to Western European countries. To date an estimated 6 direct and 43 indirect jobs have been created in this sector. An average income of EUR 7,500 has been generated for each collection centre.
The activities carried out during this reporting period include the following:
- Activity 1.E.4–Professional training and specialist knowledge-gaining: In this reporting period, the IRDS project has organized 6 participatory workshop trainings in various sectors of agriculture and trained approximately 156 representatives from local authorities, local farmers, farmers associations and NGOs. (approximately 35 % female and 65 % male)The trainings provided throughout this period included the following subjects: Farm management training; training on business economics and business planning; farm gate training for 25 table grapes and vine grape producers of Suhareke/Suva Reka; workshop training on viticulture; workshop training on implementing the MDC work plans and training on human resource management and employment. In addition, 3 workshops on MDC planning were conducted.
With technical support from IRDS, the Municipal Development Centre has developed the following strategies and reports among others: MDC annual report for 2012; MDC action plan for 2013; Strategy for improving the viticulture in the Municipality of Suhareke/Suva Reka, etc.
The IRDS project team, in close cooperation with the MDC,hasorganized a one-day training workshop on farm management. The workshop gathered 25 participants from MDC, farmers associations and NGOs. It has been confirmed that the formation of farmer groups and organizations and a coordinated marketing is one way to overcome the problem of ‘smallness’ and supply produce to expanding markets. Coordinating production and marketing in groups potentially reduces costs and helps to generate sufficient quantities/volumes of supplies to maintain competitiveness regardingdomestic and/or overseas markets. In addition, the training has provided the participants with basic knowledge and skills for managing a farm in a sustainable method. The training has been evaluated as successful bythe participants.
Moreover, a two-day participatory workshop training in business planning and business economics, including development theories and economics such as: integrated development and sustainable development. The training gathered 21 participants from MDC, farmers associations and NGOs. Existing businesses and also prospective youth need a clear understanding of the economic environment in which their businesses are and/or have to operate. This training has equipped the participants with necessary skills for applying the economic techniques to the strategic business planning processes, use and application ofthe economic theory for assessing the market conditions and therefore adjusting their business strategies. Practical and personal skill development has been essential for this training. The training enabled the participants to assemble a business plan. The main task for the participants was to assemble a comprehensive selection of information. Each plan included information onwhere and how capital would be obtained, along with how much would it be to start up or expand the business. The training has been evaluated positively form all participants. (Annex 1 Mission Report).