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An
urgent need in Kuzbass is to increase the
competitiveness of local small and medium scale private food producers by
eliminating bottlenecks between the production, processing, storage, transport,
and the various marketing stages of selected local food products. The focus of
the project is therefore on the development
of commercial and operating links between independently operated levels of
the food chain. Taking into consideration the need to improve local food
related business management in order to sell more local foodstuffs at better
prices, the
project specific objectives are:
(i)
to
stimulate and revitalise
competitiveness of Kuzbass' food sector, in particular
the meat and milk sectors;
(ii)
to
restore consumer confidence in food of domestic
origin by the adoption of Good Agricultural Practices;
(iii) to
improve agricultural sector productivity by
giving proper attention and adaptation to both
natural comparative advantage and current market forces.
To
do this, the project has selected several farmers groups which are organised in
several forms of Small and Medium scale enterprises (cooperatives,
associations) as well as local development associations and is targeting
the development of trade links with local food producers.
Based
on two pilot demonstration chains to be developed in the meat and milk sectors,
where private operators of every level are involved, the project is providing TA
in order:
·
to
provide TA and support to local private initiatives in agriculture so as
to promote effective market structures in the local food production
chain;
·
to
assist the Kuzbass government to prepare
a set of guidelines, good policies and incentives enabling viable enterprises to become profitable through
satisfying market demand;
·
to
set-up small scale credit units
(unions) for the benefit of local traders within the project area;
·
to
support small, privately owned, agri-business consulting firms (ACF)
to
become financially viable through providing services in demand from enterprises
managers;
·
to
assist the adoption of Good Agricultural Practices and
best
business practices
to make Kuzbass food competitive (through
appropriate management in a spirit of problem solving, commercial trust will be
generated in the food business by improving quality, packaging, presentation and
diversification of the local product range).
The
project also includes development of a local Market information System
(MIS) and is collaborating with an existing “business incubator”
in order to extend support to farmers groups. At a later stage,
based on the demonstrated results, the project will provide advice and
proposals on regional development policy adaptation. |
