Implementation of medicinal and aromatic school project for 20 women from Doboj, Olovo, Ahmići and Jablanica will commence in mid-May. USAID/Sida FARMA will finance the project, to be implemented by the NGO Women-for-Women International from Sarajevo. The contract between USAID/Sida FARMA and Women-for-Women International was signed yesterday.

The “Prirodno bilje” company from Banja Luka presented their business results to fifty guests and dignitaries: Mr. Zoran Kovačević, Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Waters of Republika Srpska (RS) and H.E. Bosse Hedberg, Ambassador of Kingdom of Sweden to BiH. The speakers emphasized the fact that, when considering high unemployment and enormous underdeveloped land, cultivation of medicinal and aromatic plants can contribute significantly to local economic development. In 2011, “Prirodno bilje”got the concession to use 35 hectares of land in Prijedor municipality from the RS Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Waters. Company developed chamomile plantation with assistance of the USAID/Sida FARMA project (which donated drying facilities and land cultivation machinery). Twenty families are additionally engaged in chamomile production.

BiH Ministry of foreign trade and economic relations, USAID/Sida FARMA project, UNDP Value Chains for Employment project and Swiss Caritas, organized a workshop on ‘UNECE / EU standards for fresh fruit and vegetables’ on 16 May in Sarajevo. The workshop was particularly relevant as Croatia has started to implement and enforce these standards on the border with BiH. Presentations were conducted by representatives of the Ministry of agriculture from the Republic of Croatia and a representative of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE).

USAID-Sida FARMA project will hold the presentation of results of support provided to the Prirodno Bilje company, in collaboration with the Republika Srpska Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Waters and the Republika Srpska Chamber of Commerce. The presentation will be held on 15th May 2012 (Tuesday) at 10.15 a.m. in Bistrica and Verići (Prijedor municipality). His Excellency, Bosse Hedberg, Ambassador of Kingdom of Sweden to BiH and senior representatives of Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Waters will address the attendees. Upon completion of the ceremonial segment of the event, demonstration of harvesting and drying of camomille will be held at site.

The USAID/Sida FARMA project organized a 3rd Cheese Making School in Slovenia for 15 dairy producers from Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) from 19-21 March. School attendees were trained in production of: soft cheese, cheese spread, spiced and semi-hard cheeses which are still largely imported into BiH. Part of the training was devoted to techniques of production of plain and fruit yoghurts.

Total of 30 producers attended the two previous FARMA Cheese Making Schools; 16 new cheese varieties had been produced and sold in country while additional cheese varieties are being in testing phase. In 2010, BiH imported cheese in value of BAM 48 million.

Training host was Kmetijski zavod Ptuj.

USAID/Sida FARMA project and the municipalities Prozor-Rama and Tomislavgrad are organizing education sessions for dairy producers and animal breeders from the two municipalities. Lectures will be held on:

-          Monday, 26.03.2012. in Prozor-Rama (meeting room in hydro-plant Rama), at 11:00 hrs.

-          Tuesday, 27.03.2012., in Tomislavgrad (Cantonal Assembly Hall), at 9:00 hrs.

Following topics will be covered:

- Animal diseases; animal reproduction

- Dairy production economics

- Milk hygiene

- Farm record keeping in accordance with the EU requirements

- Sheep breeding

Purpose of the lecture is to explain the ways how to reduce costs and increase incomes from dairy production.

USAID-Sida FARMA project and the Una-Sana Canton Agricultural Institute organized training for berry producers from 13-16 March. Training sessions were held in each of the eight municipalities of Una-Sana Canton, with total of 260 fruit producers present. Training encompassed practical exercises in spring trimming and pruning.

It is estimated that the producers from Una-Sana Canton will produce 600 tons of raspberry and about 100 tons of strawberry. An estimated 200 tons of fresh raspberries (Polka variety), which sells at higher prices than processed products, is expected to be exported to EU markets. Focus of the training was on increasing fruit yields, while the attendees expressed their satisfaction with an opportunity to participate in practical exercises.

Long-term endeavor of the small family company Faveda from Sarajevo culminated with tremedouous succeess- export of their natural cosmetics products to a very demanding Turkish market. According to Ms. Indira Ar from the Gold Star International company (Turkish customer), an interest for Faveda’s products exists and the new orders will prove that market interest. Beyond this significant result, Faveda succeeded, with support of USAID-Sida FARMA project, to develop and sell two new products based on medicinal and aromatic plants in local markets- natural juices and high-quality herbal teas.

Faveda’s promotional event, organized in collaboration with the Sarajevo Canton Chamber of Commerce and USAID-Sida FARMA project, was attended by the VIP guests- wife of the Ambassador of Kingdom of Sweden in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mrs. Christina Hedberg and wife of the US Ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mrs. Danuta Moon.

The USAID/Sida FARMA project held a training on raspberry farming and distributed educational materials to famers in Srebrenica yesterday. Twenty-one farmer received very valuable donation of raspberry seedlings from Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). In total, 31,500 seedlings were donated. This is sufficient to plant 2.1 hectares with raspberries. Among the farmers who received this donation were many returnees and women.

Region of Eastern Bosnia produces large quantities of fruits. Meeker variety seedlings, a new and more disease-resistant variety, were procured from Heko doo Bugojno nurseries. The first quantities are expected next year.

Sarajevo Canton Chamber of Commerce, Faveda d.o.o. Sarajevo and the USAID/Sida FARMA project are organizing a media presentation on successful production and export of final products, based on medicinal and aromatic plants, to Turkey. Media presentation will be held:

Tuesday, 13^th March 2012, at 10:45 – 12:00 hours,

Privredna komora Kantona Sarajevo, Ul. La Benevolencija 8 (5^th floor).

Medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs) sector in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) is very characteristic due to the fact that a large number of women are employed in this sector. Over 90 % of an estimated 100,000 medicinal and aromatic plants collectors are women. The sectoral exports in 2011 were BAM 22 million, primarily in raw material and semi-finished products.

Faveda’s success is therefore more significant, as this company succeeded to export final products, creams and lotions, to a demanding Turkish market. USAID/Sida FARMA supported Faveda’s efforts by assisting in development of the export-oriented marketing plan and by provision of grant funds for new product development.

Faveda is a great example of the small local firm competing with other European producers of natural cosmetics. The guests of the presentation will be Ms. Danuta Moon, spouse of  U.S. Ambassador to BiH, and Ms. Christina Hedberg, spouse of  Ambassador of Kingdom of Sweden to BiH, who will also address the attendees.

USAID / Sida FARMA project, in collaboration with the BiH Foreign Trade Chamber and SIPPO program, provided support to eight companies from Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) to participate in the 23rd Organic Food Fair, Biofach, held in Nuremberg (Germany) from  15 – 18 February 2012.

The following domestic companies presented their products: Anđelić Trebinje, Elmar Aroma Care Bileća, Roing Ljubuški, Hecco Bugojno, Elmar Trebinje, Bionatura Breza, Halilović Ilijaš, Smrčak Zvornik, while the following companies attended the fair as observers:  Arome Mostar and Ekomozaik Šekovići.

Biofach is the largest organic food fair in Europe. This year, 40.000 visitors from 130 countries visited the fair, while 2.420 presented their products.

PMG-VIP, Unaplod, Maočanka,  Agroimpex, ZZ Gračanka and Agrofruit, local agricultural producers, attended fresh fruits and vegetable fair Fruit Logistica, held in Berlin in period of 8-10 February. The fair was attended by a number of companies and cooperatives operating in fruits and vegetable sector. A number of contacts with potential customers from EU and other countries were established by domestic producers. The participation of domestic producers was supported by SIPPO (Swiss Import Promotion Programme) while USAID-Sida FARMA project provided technical support and assistance in preparation of the producers’presentation at the fair. Fruti Logistica is the largest European fair for fresh fruits and vegetable. This year, the fair was attended by over 60,000 visitors, while 2,400 companies from all over the world presented their products.

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.

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.

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 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) 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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” 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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).