| Technical Assistance for the Establishment of an Autonomous Agri - Business Development unit , Kosovo
European Agency for Reconstruction
The general objective of the AgroBusiness Development Unit (ABU) is to stabilise, develop and grow the Kosovo Rural economy through the re-launch of viable Agro-Processing Socially Owned Enterprises (SOE's) and Private Agri-Businesses. This will:
- Directly strengthen market outlets for primary producers - livestock farmers, arable and horticultural growers,
- Increase producer returns.
ADAS will implement the administration of the Agro-Business Development Unit (ABU), including the executive management of its Agro-Processing Division, and the development of a supervised credit programme i) for selected and commercially viable Socially Owned (SOE) and private agro-processing enterprises; and ii) for associated primary agricultural and livestock production. ABU was established as the implementation unit for the European Agency for Reconstruction (EAR) Agricultural Processing and Marketing Programme (APMP) for 2001.
In addition the introduction of high quality value added products by Socially owned agro-processors and private agri-business units into the domestic and regional food markets will:
- gain them access to the market place,
- recapture market share from those overseas manufacturers importing food products into Kosovo as well as regionally and who previously benefited from the domestic production and supply of inferior quality value added foods which was little competition,
- raise rural incomes further,
- increase rural employment,
- increasing employment within the food processing and food-supply chain sectors of the industry.
Project management , training, capacity building, institution building and policy advice. Credit operation.
ADAS has formed a consortium with Agrotech Spa (Italy) and Finlombarda (Italy) who will provide long term and short term experts for the establishment of the unit.
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