The project “Support for development of agricultural cooperatives” has a general goal to contribute to greater productivity and competitiveness of the agricultural sector in the country.
The specific objective of the project is to increase market competitiveness and cooperation among farmers in the country, by creating favorable conditions for the development of existing and creating new agricultural cooperatives.
Target groups:
• Existing agricultural cooperatives and groups of farmers who want to form new cooperatives and will have the opportunity to participate in info-sessions and trainings for developing business plans;
• 20 agricultural cooperatives (8 existing and 12 newly registered) will receive project sub-grants, training and mentoring;
• MAFWE will receive support for the revision of policies and improvements in the system for monitoring the development of agricultural cooperatives.
The project is planned to follow a range of activities:
• Provide a comprehensive legal framework that will encourage and support agricultural cooperatives and will facilitate the registration and operation of cooperatives;
• Study visits to good practices in EU / region countries for selected agricultural cooperatives;
• Capacity building and financial support for the umbrella organization in order to adhere to the principles of democratic governance and functional independence, as well as strengthening its role in supporting and developing agricultural cooperatives in the country;
• Raising public awareness of the recognition of agricultural cooperatives as a means of achieving additional productivity and efficiency in the agricultural sector;
• Needs assessment, technical and financial support for 8 existing and 12 new cooperatives.
The implementation of the project will achieve the following results:
- Result 1. Revised legal framework for agricultural cooperatives through cooperation of the project team, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Economy (MAFWE) and the Umbrella Organization of Agricultural Cooperatives;
- Result 2. Strengthened capacities of the selected umbrella organization of agricultural cooperatives;
- Result 3.1. Increased awareness among farmers, businesses and the general public about the benefits of cooperatives;
- Result 3.2. Created a database of agricultural cooperatives;
- Result 4. Technical and financial support has been provided for the development of 8 existing and for the establishment of 12 new agricultural cooperatives.The duration of the project is 38 months (14 December 2017 to 13 February 2021). The project is funded by the European Union through a budget line: Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance – IPA II.
