| Project Detail |
The EBRD intends to pilot a digital product to further integrate small producers into value chains, enhancing their ability to meet food safety and quality standards through user-friendly, real-time digital solutions. This includes adapting digital solutions to facilitate the adoption of good agricultural practices, food safety and quality standards, including Geographical Indication labels (“GI”), making compliance more accessible and manageable. These digital solutions will be tailored to improve efficiency, simplify adherence and ensure compliance with food safety standards, therefore improving overall product and process quality. By making these standards more accessible, the Project aims to facilitate their implementation by producers. Recognizing the challenges small producers and associations may face in managing control systems, the introduction of these user-friendly, real-time digital solutions, will help them efficiently meet the required standards, thereby streamlining the entire quality management process, and enhancing their market competitiveness. Rationale For over 25 years, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (“FAO”) and the EBRD have been working together to drive more sustainable food systems and private sector development, combining technical expertise and investment capacity in the Bank’s regions of operations. In recent decades, the joint FAO/EBRD work has supported the emergence of commercially viable, environmentally sustainable, and resilient local food supply chains across subsectors in the Western Balkans and other regions. Building on past results and lessons learned, FAO and EBRD are committed to extending support and upscaling ongoing efforts to upgrade quality standards and promote the adoption of best practices, strengthen the capacity of small-scale producers, and streamline market access. This in turn, can provide opportunities for further business for larger players. TC Services The Project will support: i) food producers in the Western Balkans to ensure quality assurance and implement GI certification processes through digital tools; ii) the development/strengthening of Short Food Supply Chains by enhancing digital market inclusion and aggregation. |
