| LocationSerbiaObjectivesGoalThe overall goal of the capacity building project is to contribute to the enhanced competitiveness of the Serbian fruit and vegetable sector in terms of being able to meet the prevailing European public and private quality standards for fruits and vegetables.PurposeBy the end of the project:AGRONET and its partners will have sufficient capacity to support and expand further implementation of GLOBALGAP in Serbia. This results in a first group of pilot farmers (guided by AGRONET) that will be certified or will be very near to GLOBALGAP certification.A feasible strategy has been designed by the key stakeholders for the solution of the main bottlenecks and the institutionalisation of a quality assurance system related to public and private standards supportive to he Serbian horticultural sector. Approach and activities in 2008The implementation of this capacity building project is based on the principle that AGRONET and other stakeholders in the Serbian fruit and vegetable sector will have the primary responsibility for the attainment of the objectives listed above; the role and responsibility of the partners of the Wageningen University & Research Centre (WUR) are to provide technical assistance in the form of training, coaching and advisory services and to link the Serbian partners with a knowledge support network that will aide the institutionalisation of quality and safety systems. Such an implementation approach will enhance the sustainability of the newly developed systems and increase the efficiency of the project. The consequence will be that the implementation speed is depending on various (local) factors. In line with this approach the following key activities for WUR advisors are foreseen:1. Continuation of assistance to the pilot implementation of GLOBALGAP in a number of selected farms1.1. continue the monitoring of the implementation of GLOBAGAP and evaluate and assist to alleviate the bottlenecks for compliance to GLOBALGAP;1.2. if needed provide training on specific crucial topics; 1.3. assist in the actual certification of those farms when they are ready for it by support to select a recognised certifying organisation; 1.4. to draw up lessons learnt from the pilot together with AGRONET, farmers, certifiers and other stakeholders. 2. Scaling-up activities 2.1. organisation and implementation of a Training of Trainers on GLOBALGAP implementation, ICM/IPM, auditing and related subjects, by the first batch of trainers from AGRONET and assisted by WUR and/or PTC+ for a group of 15 ¿ 20 participants:Þ interested parties of the faculty of Horticulture of the Universities of Belgrade and Novi Sad, the Serbian Ministry of Agriculture, Vojvodina Extension Service other extension services and horticultural chain stakeholders or service providers;Þ Assist the new trainees to set-up pilots for implementation, using experiences from the first pilot. 3. Formulation of a feasible strategy for solving key problems and using lessons learned for future use and possible institutionalisation3.1. linking-up with local stakeholders the Serbian horticultural sector like the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Water Management, Vojvodina Provincial Secretariat of Agriculture, Water Economy and Forestry, faculties of Horticulture of the Universities of Belgrade and Novi Sad, technical service providers, producers (and if interested) retailers;3.2. organisation and facilitation of a workshop for interested stakeholders mentioned above aimed at (a) discussing the outcome of the project activities and (b) planning of the next phase of the institutionalisation process; and3.3. depending on the above outcome and if feasible to assist by technical backstopping or training further needed activities.Outputs/activitiesJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSeptOct Nov DecResponsible 1. Continuation of assistance 1.1 Continue monitoring PPO1.2 If needed training WI & PPO 1.3 Assist in certification PPO1.4 Lessons learnt pilot WI 2. Scaling-up WI & PPO 3. Formulation strategy 3.1 linking stakeholders WI3.2 workshop WI & PPO3.3 follow-up activities WI & PPO TimeframeIt is envisaged that the second phase of this capacity building project can be implemented in a period of 11 ¿ 12 months. A tentative implementation schedule based on the range of activities listed above has been suggested in the table below; this schedule will be checked and updated in close cooperation with the partners of AGRONET and the LNV Counsellor in Zagreb/Belgrade. Outputs 2007The following outputs were achieved during 2007 (at the time of writing 12.10.2007);A Training of Trainers course was implemented for ten (10) horticultural advisers who cooperate with AGRONET on (i) Integrated Crop/Pest Management (ICM/IPM), (ii) EurepGAP and its procedures, implementation and auditing, (iii) a practical auditing exercise in a farm, and (iv) planning further activities and backstopping of the pilot with cooperating farmers; On-going pilot testing will be a hands-on auditing by small groups trainees (of the ToT course) jointly with the farmers of this pilot. Two to four trainees guide one of the three pilot farms in setting up their EurepGAP auditing system, while firstly they identified lacunas in the respective farms for EurepGAP certification. Per pilot farm the trainees, jointly with the farmer made an action plan and a time schedule for solving these problems. Further backstopping on the spot in Serbia will be given to the groups by PPO and WI on assessing the progress made towards solving problems related to certification, to assist further in finding solutions, while it is foreseen that PTC+ will provide a training on specific technical topics during November 2007. The ¿Serbian version of EurepGAP¿ that was developed by AGRONET under the Swiss funded SECO project ¿Trade Promotion - Introduction of EUREPGAP Standards for Agro-exporters from Serbia and Montenegro¿ (implemented by TULUM and Widmer Consulting, Switzerland). The activities of the Swiss and the Dutch LNV project are complementary, while both cooperate as much as possible, which is facilitated as in both cases AGRONET is the leading Serbian partner. On September 28, 2007, The Serbian Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management, the Serbian Chamber of Commerce, SECO and GTZ organised a conference. AGRONET, and other Serbian stakeholders and donor projects on the EurepGAP, being the earlier mentioned SECO project and the GTZ project on GLOBALGAP Promotion. The aim was to (i) exchange experiences, and (ii) to agree on and plan further steps. The new national and international supermarket chains on the Serbian market were not represented as they were not (yet?) interested in the subject. The conference did not agree on further steps to be taken in the planning. In the margin of the conference the three projects agreed to intensify the cooperation. Concluding: a start has been made with alleviating obstacles for GLOBALGAP implementation and possible certification of the pilot farms. It was too optimistic and unrealistic to expect that these farms would be ready for certification near the end of the 2007 growing season, while the learning cycle of the both the trainees and the farmers will be longer, particularly as the obstacles for farmers to solve the various problems that hinder their certification for GLOBALGAP will be of a complex socio- economic-technical nature.Outputs 2008During 2007 in the process of implementation a number of bottlenecks were identified, which need further attention to make the step to GLOBALGAP certification smoothly, for example:pesticide legislation and communication about the (EU and Serbian) legislation and regulations to stakeholders (e.g. farmers and advisors); knowledge about and/or access to MRL requirements in the designated countries; access to and the reasonable costs of testing (laboratory) facilities; crop relevant ICM/IPM knowledge of farmers and advisory service; hygienic awareness and procedures in processing and handling of produce; and accreditation of certification institutes (bodies) to allow capacity building in the certification of farms and final bottleneck training of Serbian institutes and extension services.The foreseen outputs for 2008 are the following:The first small batch of pilot farmers guided by AGRONET will be certified or will be very near to GLOBALGAP certification; AGRONET will have developed sufficient capacity to provide Training of Trainers (ToT) courses on GLOBALGAP (or the ¿Serbian interpretation of EurepGAP¿) and provide guidance in the compliance process for farmers; A first ToT course for partners of AGRONET will be organised and implemented by AGRONET with assistance of PPO, WI and PTC+; Strategy for solving existing bottlenecks and the institutionalisation of a comprehensive quality assurance system in the Serbian horticultural sector based on the quality assurance principles derived from GLOBALGAP. |
