USAID Serbia and Montenegro
Opportunity Bank (Serbia) loans created 5,000+ new jobs and ensured 40,000+ existing jobs were kept. Only lender for vulnerable people who have little access to credit. | Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) (Serbia): Civil Society activities have brought together 14 major companies and an array of NGOs to establish culture of CSR. | Preparedness Planning (Serbia): USAID works with all levels of government to improve disaster risk reduction, trained 675 responders from 50 Municipalities on disaster management. | Civil Society Grants (Serbia): USAID assisted 160 Civil Society organizations with $5.2 million in 2.5yrs to better represent the needs of ordinary people & become more influential partners with businesses and government in the democratic process. | Media (Serbia): USAID media assistance has contributed to more independent, professional and financially viable media outlets and media associations. The regulatory environment now better supports the development of e-media; 2,000+ media professionals trained. | Court Reform (Serbia): U.S. assistance helped increase independence and the professional skills of judges, magistrates and prosecutors; provided legal assistance to victims of war crimes and human rights abuses. | Local governments (Serbia): Through work with a wide geographic spread of municipalities, local governments are now more responsive: 30+ Citizen Assistance Centers, E-government in 80+ Municipalities. | Youth (Serbia): Junior Achievement in 90 schools in 2009. USAID supports efforts of the Ministry of Youth/Sports to better prepare youth for post-graduation work opportunities. | Agribusiness (Serbia): Serbian companies assisted made $16.7m in registered sales in 2008. Recent trade shows expected to bring over $17m in contracts. | Local Economic growth (Serbia): Municipalities in USAID’s Municipal Economic Growth Activity attracted over 800m Euro in investments and created over 11,000 jobs in two years by becoming more business friendly; 270 new businesses opened; 26 Local Economic Development offices set up to actively attract investments. | Commercial Courts (Serbia) have become more efficient and transparent with Case Management Systems in all 16 courts and the High Commercial Court. Case backlogs cut drastically. | Compete Project (Serbia): Helping to bring Serbian companies back into world market – leading directly to $20.5m in 2008 exports. Helping to introduce International Industry standards that allow companies to compete in the global marketplace. Attracted major film productions and millions in investments. | Support to companies (Serbia) in vulnerable areas increased their competitiveness. 2008 sales at trade/shows fairs for assisted companies up 42%. | Economic systems (Serbia): Helped introduce: VAT; private pensions; investment funds; sound insurance industry, bankruptcy and enforcement and modern payment systems. |
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    Agribusiness Project

    This 5 year, $24 million economic development project provides assistance to Serbian agriculture and agribusinesses with the aim of increasing agricultural sales and exports by Serbian firms and creating new employment in this sector.

    Project components include:

    • Increasing the competitiveness and efficiency of Serbian agribusiness enterprises all along the value chain in six high-potential agricultural sub-sectors: Tree Fruits, Berry Fruits, Vegetables, Mushrooms, Herbs and Spices, Dairy Products, and Livestock.
    • Creating a positive enabling environment, which includes favorable legislation and policies, as well as effective provision of essential agribusiness extension services, such as market information, annual agricultural production estimates, animal and plant health and food safety information, and regulatory oversight, such as licensing, labeling standards, and product certification, etc.

      Examples of key accomplishments:

      • 230 agribusiness firms have been assisted, 135 of which attended 17 international and domestic fairs. Client firms have signed contracts to sell $55 million dollars of agricultural products from Serbia, and have so far delivered $34M of these products. An additional $50M of sales are under negotiation.
      • Provided support to the Ministry of Agriculture to advance the issue of a national Warehouse Receipts system, including provision of international expertise for the drafting of the necessary legislation. This Law will allow farmers to use warehouse receipts, issued by public warehouses for the farmers’ commodities stored in their premises, as collateral to get loans from commercial banks.
      • Launched a national campaign to support the adoption of relevant international standards in agriculture and food processing, including GlobalGAP, ISO 22000, and ISO 14001.
      • Implemented Safe Pesticide Use and Environmental Protection trainings in 24 locations, in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture’s Plant Protection Administration. In total 475 people successfully passed the training and 38 future trainers graduated from the program.
      • Completed the first round of a Business Plan Competition for young entrepreneurs, with the winners receiving grants to establish new business enterprises. Initiated an entrepreneurship program for women.

        More information can be found on the Project website: www.agrobiznis.net