Farma

Finance training of cooperative managers

admin — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 14:47:28 +0000

FARMA project, Agriculture Institute of Una Sana Canton in Bihać and the Cooperative Association of FBiH, are continuing cooperation in training of cooperative managers. The training- “Financial analysis of cooperative business management”- was held on 31 January and 01 February 2012 in Bihać. Esma Mustajbašić, Agricultural Finance Manager of FARMA trained cooperative managers in financial analysis. Course participants received certificates following completion of a 2-day training.

Deputy Counselor of the U.S. Embassy visits MAP companies

admin — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 11:01:03 +0000

Erin Kotheimer, Deputy Counselor/Embassy Econ Section visited two MAP companies in Banja Luka region – Prirodno Bilje and Plantago from Slatina. Prirodno bilje is cultivating and producing MAPs mostly for pharmaceutical industry and their future development plans are going mostly toward increasing cultivatation of MAPs, while Plantago, one of the biggest tea producers in BiH is working on development of their products and customer relationships. Ms. Kotheimer had opportunity to visit production premises of both companies and discuss challenges in their business and plans for future development. Both companies underlined importance of FARMA project and their gratitude for all efforts done so far.

Export of honey from BiH- authorities of relevant institutions and the required documentation round table

admin — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 16:16:26 +0000

The BiH Foreign Trade Chamber and USAID/Sida FARMA project organized a round table discussion on a topic ” Export of honey from BiH- authorities of relevant institutions and the required documentation.” Representatives from BiH Indirect Tax Authority, BiH Veterinary Office and the BiH Food Safety Agency presented new developments in this domain. Round table discussion was attended by representatives of beekeeping organizations and institutions relevant for sectoral development.

Annual MAP conference held

admin — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 08:40:48 +0000

Annual conference of medicinal and aromatic plants, mushrooms and forest products producers and processors was held in organization of the Medicinal and Aromatic Plants Group of the BiH Foreign Trade Chamber, USAID/Sida FARMA project and SIPPO. A large number of representatives from reputable local companies had an opportunity to exchange their opinions and experiences and to be informed on the upcoming activities. Group’s plan was accepted, and the representatives of donor organizations stressed their commitment to support planned activities.

Organska Kontrola (OK) recognized in the EU as a certification body with standards and control systems equivalent to EU regulation for organic production

admin — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 08:32:28 +0000

Organska Kontrola (OK) has recently become recognized in the EU as a certification body with standards and control systems equivalent to EU regulation for organic production. An event to celebrate this ocassion was organized in the Foreign Trade Chamber in Sarajevo on the 13 December. Only 30 out of 73 applications from certification bodies across the world have been approved, and OK is the only certification body from the Balkans which has obtained this approval. USAID/Sida FARMA project supported OK since 2009 to maintain and expand the scopes of accreditation and achieve EU recognition.

Environmental permits and ISO 14001

admin — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 08:29:39 +0000

In cooperation with Bosper in Tuzla, USAID/Sida FARMA organized training on environmental permits and ISO 14001 certification system. Participants included agricultural producers and processors from north-east Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Ambassador Moon visit to dairy farm Šubić near Laktaši

admin — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 17:33:06 +0000

U.S. Ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina, H.E. Patrick Moon, visited a dairy farm of Šubić family in Malo Blaško (Laktaši municipality) with associates from USAID and the FARMA project. Šubić family is in dairy business for over three decades, and today own a heard of 35 dairy cows. The farm produces milk of extra quality.

H.E. Moon had an opportunity to talk with representative of Mlijekoprodukt from Kozarska Dubica, the largest dairy farm in BiH, and discuss the challenges facing BiH dairy farmers and dairy industry with Croatia becoming an EU member-state.

Sales of medicinal and aromatic plants and honey products at the Sarajevo Airport

admin — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 16:27:59 +0000

Representatives of local medicinal and aromatic plants, fruits and vegetable and honey processors had a great business opportunity today- BiH Foreign Trade Chamber and the USAID/Sida FARMA project organiyed a meeting with the Sales Manager of the Sarajevo Airport Duty Free Shop , Ms. Kerima Karahasanović. Ms. Karahasanović and FARMA marketing expert presented opportunities for sale of local, appropriately packaged products, in newly opened Sarajevo Airport Gift Shop and Duty Free. Companies can now directly contact Ms. Karahasanović and present their product offerings.

Ecologic permits and ISO 14001

admin — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 08:06:45 +0000

The USAID/Sida FARMA project and Chamber of Commerce of Banja Luka region organized yesterday in Banja Luka a training on “Ecologic permits and ISO 14001.” As we support the ecologically sustainable agricultural development in BiH, the compliance with principles of environmental protection is an integral part of the implementation of the project’s activities.

FARMA and Chamber of Commerce assist the agricultural producers and processors to operate in compliance with local regulation, EU requirements and to generally improve their practices in environmental protection. Purpose of this training was to inform the processors on procedures to obtain environmental permits and to inform them on the environmental control systems in compliance with ISO 14001. The training was held by Mr. Selim Čemerlić P.E., a consultant with years of experience in standardization and environmental protection.

First hydro diffusion distillery in BiH opens for business

admin — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 08:04:04 +0000

The ceremonial opening of the first medicinal plants hydro diffusion distillery was held today in Roing Company at Muminovača (Čapljina municipality).

In March 2011, Roing started implementation of the project “Introduction of new technologies in distillation of medicinal and aromatic herbs- hydro diffusion distillation” with support of the USAID/Sida FARMA project. The benefits of the new technology are: shorter distilling time, decreased usage of energy, improved utilization rate, increased production of higher quality essential oils and additional energy savings attained by use of warm water from distilling process.

The project will employ 2 new full-time workers, about 30 seasonal workers and additional 80 collectors and farmer-cultivators. The total value of the project is BAM 127,000.

USAID / Sida FARMA recognized the potential of this innovative project in increasing productivity and competitiveness of Roing as well as their cooperants, as well as the project’s indirect impact on improving competitiveness of the entire industry.

Ceremony was attended by Mr. David Lieberman, Head of Economic Recovery Office of USAID BiH, along with other guests/ representatives of medicinal and aromatic plants processing companies from BiH.

Postharvest Management- practical training and field visits

admin — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 09:14:39 +0000

During the practical training on Postharvest Management, training participants visited locations around the country on 27-28 October. Eighty-nine participants from 10 countries (Kosovo, Albania, Montenegro, Moldavia, Azerbaijan, Ukraine, Macedonia, Serbia and BiH) visited “Heko” and “Unaplod” companies and agricultural cooperative “VIP Krajina” to see the postharvest management activities in practice. The University of California-Davis lecturers (professors Elizabeth Mitcham, Mary Lu Arpaia, Marita Cantwell and Michael Reid) used this opportunity to comment on some significant factors relating to preparation of fruits and vegetable for sale in market and propose improvements.

Round table discussion on “Application of rulebook on non-wood forest products in FBiH and RS”

admin — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 11:09:18 +0000

Round table discussion on “Application of rulebook on non-wood forest products in FBiH and RS” was held in Sarajevo yesterday, in organization of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants Group of the BiH Foreign Trade Chamber and USAID/Sida FARMA project. This was an opportunity for governmental representatives to meet representatives from this Group and discuss the regulation pertaining to medicinal and aromatic plants sector. The conclusion of the round table was that the government and the Group should work closely in the future to attempt to develop regulation.

Regional “Postharvest Management” Training Sarajevo, 24.-28. October 2011

admin — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 15:30:16 +0000

Around the developing world, an average of 40 percent or more of agricultural product that is harvested is lost before it can be consumed. Reducing this postharvest loss is usually the most effective way to increase the incomes of producers and other businesses in the supply chain.

In support of the objective of reducing postharvest loss, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Regional Competitiveness Initiative and USAID projects in ten countries cooperated to hold a regional Postharvest Management Training in Sarajevo for 89 agricultural professionals from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Albania, Montenegro, Georgia, Moldavia, Macedonia, Azerbaijan, Ukraine and Serbia. In addition to the USAID support, Sida, the Swedish Development Agency, and CzDA, the Czech Development Agency, provided funding support.

The course was taught by professors from the University of California at Davis -UC Davis Post Harvest Institute- that is widely recognized as having among the world’s best experts in this subject. They provided instruction, text books, and computerized training materials for the students to use in the future.

This event represents a remarkable partnership among many donors and many countries. It will not only provide training for professionals but it will promote regional collaboration and open the possibility of working together in other useful ways. This university graduate school level training has allowed the participants to receive training that would have been prohibitively expensive had they been required to travel to the California university campus to receive it.

The participants received instruction on how to properly manage fruits and vegetables following harvest including temperature management, handling, packaging, transport, the use of modified atmospheres, symptoms and treatments for diseases, and numerous topics. They were given practical exercises in grading and product selection and had the opportunity to visit commercial packing operations. The graduates are expected to return to their respective countries and train others in the technologies and practices they learned during this valuable course.

Regional Postharvest Management Training, Sarajevo October 24-28

admin — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 14:21:43 +0000

Around the developing world, an average of 40 percent of agricultural product that is harvested is lost before it can be consumed. Reducing this post harvest loss is usually the most effective way to increase the incomes of producers and other businesses in the supply chain.

The University of California at Davis (UC Davis) annually hosts a summer course in post harvest management in California that is widely recognized as the best in the world.

In support of the objective of reducing post harvest loss, the USAID Regional Competitiveness Initiative and the USAID/Sida FARMA project are organizing a regional Post Harvest Training Course. The RCI Project has arranged to bring a short version of this course to the region. The professors will be faculty and staff from the UC Davis Post Harvest Institute.

Bosnia and Herzegovina was selected as the place to hold the course with the USAID/Sida FARMA project handling all of the local logistics. The FARMA project is funded by USAID and Sida and is collaborating with the Czech Development Agency to support this important training course. The course will include university, graduate level training in Sarajevo plus two days of site visits going as far away as Banja Luka. The training will be from October 24 through October 28, 2011.

This major training event will include more than a 100 participants from ten countries (BiH, Kosovo, Albania, Montenegro, Georgia, Moldavia, Macedonia, Azerbaijan, Ukraine and Serbia). USAID projects in each of these countries are sponsoring participants from their countries. These participants will receive this important training at a fraction of the cost of sending them to California.

This event is a remarkable partnership among so many donors and so many countries. It will not only provide welcome training for professionals but it will promote regional collaboration and open the possibility of working together in other useful ways. This training course will be followed up with a meeting in December at which these same organizations will explore the possibility of other training events and regional cooperation in important areas such as market information and laboratory services.

HACCP Certificates Awarded to local companies and cooperatives

admin — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 12:35:51 +0000

Independent certification agency DQS presented a HACCP certificate today to “Anđelić” Trebinje and “Medicom” Grude companies and to agricultural cooperatives “Apimed” Sanski Most, and “Insieme” Bratunac. This is a result of a two-month training program „HACCP system and its implementation,”organized by the USAID/Sida FARMA project with the purpose of assisting BiH producers and processors in compliance with the applicable regulation. HACCP certification is an important precondition in accessing EU markets. The training program emphasized the training of HACCP team leaders to enable independent introduction and proper application of the HACCP requirements in system implementation.

Financial analysis of cooperative business-advanced course

admin — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 07:34:37 +0000

Training on financial analysis of cooperative business for cooperative auditors and board members was held in the period of 12-14 October 2011 in „Bijele vode“ hotel near Goražde. Training was organized by USAID/Sida FARMA project in cooperation with Cooperative Associations of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Republika Srpska and Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The goal was to provide additional education in the area of business analyses of coops and cooperative unions and enable auditors and board members to make better decisions in relation to audits. Upon completion of training, attendees visited the agricultural fair ” Apple Day” in Goražde.

Local producers at the Anuga 2011 food fair in Cologne

admin — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 07:18:08 +0000

USAID/Sida FARMA project provided support to six companies from BiH to present their products at the international food fair Anuga 2011 held in the period of 8-12 October in Cologne (Germany). Companies presented a wide variety of products: pickled vegetable, juices, jams, spices, dried and frozen fruits, as well as the fresh and processed mushrooms. A great deal of these products is already being exported and the goal of the fair presentation was to secure new contracts and expand the range of exported products to include new products produced by these companies. The participation in the fair ws also supported by the BiH Foreign Trade Chamber/BiH Export Promotion Agency.

Marketing training for cheese producers

admin — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 06:41:51 +0000

Products made by the cheese processors in BiH have a great market potential. However, producers lack the necessary skills to improve their position in domestic market. To improve these skills, USAID/Sida FARMA organized a training on two topics: (1) How to conduct a proper market research; and (2) How to promote products. Representatives of 6 cheese processors were present on this training. Training will continue in order to enable producers to communicate with the public to present new products and to promote new and improved technologies they adopted during the last year (e.g. use of liquid smoke in production of smoked cheese).

Certificate award ceremony

admin — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 15:00:56 +0000

Certificates were awarded today to women attendees of the Medicinal Plants Cultivation and Collection School- a year-long program designed by USAID/Sida FARMA and implemented by an NGO Women for Women International. One hundred women farmers passed the school program with success. Certificates were awarded today to 20 women from Vareš i Olovo. The ceremony was attended by senior officials of USAID and Sida- USAID BiH Mission Director Mr. Allan Reed and Sida Director Mr. Pelle Persson. Mayor of Vareš, Mr. Hamdo Fatić expressed his support to the project.

EU regulation on sales of traditional medicinal plant products

admin — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 14:51:29 +0000

USAID/Sida FARMA project, CBI and the BiH Foreign Trade Chamber organized a presentation today on the EU regulation on sales of traditional medicinal plant products. Mr. Bram Wejiland from Netherlands presented procedures, conditions and requirements which BiH producers of medicinal plant products, spices and teas must fulfill to reach EU customers.

USAID/Sida FARMA and NGO Women for Women International organized a meeting between producers and processors of medicinal plants

admin — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 06:36:43 +0000

USAID/Sida FARMA and NGO Women for Women International organized a meeting between producers and processors of medicinal plants on Wednesday, 28th September 2011. Meeting was attended by 20 women, participants in the one-year school on cultivation of medicinal plants. These women had an opportunity to present what they have learned in the school and present their products. Attending processors: Neven from Rudo, Smrčak from Zvornik, Faveda from Sarajevo and Ljekobilje from Trebinje made arrangements with the participants on future collaboration and procurement. All medicinal plants produced by the medicinal plants cultivation school will be purchased by these processors.

Environemntal training conducted in Bihac

admin — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 08:11:55 +0000

USAID/Sida FARMA strives to ensure environmentally sustainable agricultural development. As such, environmental compliance is an important part of FARMA’s requirements for implementation of activities financed through grant funds. In addition, FARMA strives to assist agricultural producers and processors comply with local environmental laws, meet EU requirements and improve environmental performance. Therefore, FARMA cooperated with the Agriculture Instititute in Una Sana Canton to organize training for agricultural processors on the procedures for obtaining environmental permits as well as environmental management systems under the ISO 14001. The training was held in Bihac on Thursday 22 September.

Contract to continue introduction of new bery varieties signed

admin — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 07:32:17 +0000

Agricultural Faculty Sarajevo and Czech Development Agency signed a contract on continuing introduction of the new berry varieties in BiH. This project will enable access to new varieties of berries to local producers, thus enhancing their chances to attain better market results in both national and international markets.

The project represents a continuation of the activities initiated and supported by the USAID/Sida FARMA project during the last year by which 20 new berry varieties were introduced at the Faculty demo plot and plots of some selected producers. The contract enables continuation of this activity in the next year, and 15 new varieties are expected to be introduced locally.

Current results indicate that varieties such as ‘Octavia’, ‘Nova’, ‘Joan’, ‘Killarney’ and ‘Allgold’ (yellow fruit color) have significant market potential. These varieties, which are harvested annually or even twice a year, are in demand, which enables local producers to attain higher sales. New production technologies, such as high tunnel production, will be introduced also, with the purpose of enhancing competitiveness of local producers in regional and EU markets.

Additionally, highbush blueberry is another berry which has significant market potential in BiH.

GlobalGAP

admin — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 16:48:52 +0000

GlobalGAP is a private sector standards that is usually required for producers wishing to export fresh fruits and vegetables to the EU. A new GlobalGAP version 4 has been developed and is obligatory from 1 January 2012. It is crucial that consultants in BiH are kept up-to-date with the new trends in GlobalGAP and are able to provide adequate advice to farmers. Therefore, FARMA cooperated with the UNDP VCE project to train 6 people in GlobalGAP at the GlobalGAP workshop and conference, which was held between 13-15 September in Warsaw, Poland.

FARMA Day held at the U.S. Embassy

admin — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 13:42:40 +0000

Farma Day, a celebration of the collaboration between the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Swedish International Development Agency (Sida) along with the recent addition of the Czech Development Agency (CzDA) to create economic growth in the agricultural sector of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) was held on the 14 September. The event was held at the U.S. Embassy with 14 local agricultural producers selling their products. Embassy officials, staff and Embassy guests had the opportunity to buy fresh fruits, vegetables, dairy products as well as medicinal and aromatic products. All products were available for sampling- lots of delicious sampling and proceeds from sales went directly to the producers.

Training of Trainers on „Farm Record Keeping According to EU Directives“ Held in Bihac, Bosanska Krupa, Banja Luka, Gradačac

admin — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 13:41:49 +0000

In the past two weeks FARMA project managed four trainings of trainers on the topic “Farm record keeping according to EU directives – Slovenia experience“ . Trainer was Mrs. Eva Tkalčić of Agricultural Institute Maribor who presented all records that EU farmers have to keep.

Forty eight (48) agronomists who attended these trainings represented municipal extension services, veterinarian and agriculture institutes, agencies and ministries of agriculture, local agencies included in agriculture development. They could in the near future, as trained trainers, start training of farmers. Considering that BiH has the status of potential EU candidates (and will join the EU one day), this training was extremely helpful especially in terms of timely preparation of BiH farmers for managing the farm records.

Visit of BiH Dairy Producers to 49th International Agricultural Fair “AGRA” in Gornja Radgona (Slovenia)

admin — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 11:27:05 +0000

In organization of the USAID-Sida FARMA project, 32 dairy farmers and representatives of various agricultural institutions attended the 49th International Agricultural Fair “AGRA” in Gornja Radgona (Slovenia), between 22-23 August. Meetings with the representative of Slovenian Ministry of Agriculture, Mr. Vladimir Čeligoj, and with the Director of the Agricultural Chamber of Slovenia, Mr. Igor Hrovatič were organized during the fair. Additionally, producers and representatives of institutions from BiH visited INOX company and the bio gas production facility in Lendava. During the visit to bio gas production plant, attendees had a chance to see the advantages of the production of bio gas and to discuss the possibilities of investing into bio gas production in BiH.

BiH Beekeepers visit Slovenia

admin — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 13:56:27 +0000

Twenty representatives of beekeeping associations and relevant institution of Bosnia and Herzegovina visited beekeepers in Slovenia in the period of 18 – 21 August. Representatives from BiH were invited by the Slovenian Beekeepers Association “Čebelarska Sveza Slovenije,” and the visit was organized by the USAID/Sida FARMA. Beekeepers and representatives of BiH institutions had an opportunity to learn, both in theory and in practice, new beekeeping practices. Local attendees had a chance to ascertain the attractiveness and appeal of the beekeeping tourism in Slovenia and to learn about breeding and production of Kranjska bee queens. At the conclusion of the visit, attendees visited an agricultural fair in Gornja Radgona.

Meetings in Una Sana Canton

admin — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 08:10:57 +0000

FARMA held a series of working meetings on August 11, 2011 with representatives from the Cabinet of the Cantonal Prime Minister, Bihać municipality, Cantonal Agricultural Ministry, Cantonal Assembly and the Agricultural Institute of Una Sana Canton. The project presented past and ongoing activities and discussed the future activities of the project in this canton.

Czech Development Agency Visit

admin — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 11:29:02 +0000

Between 1 and 2 August the representatives of the Czech Development Agency joined FARMA staff to visit the berry demo plot in Butmir, which is managed by the Agriculture Faculty-Sarajevo, and the regional agriculture extension service in Bratunac. Counterparts discussed issues affecting fruit production in BiH as well as the potential support of the Czech Development Agency to projects implemented by these organizations.