expertise

agriculture and marketing

Agriculture and Marketing

In developing countries where the biggest share of the population lives in rural areas and depends on agricultural production, agricultural development plays a key role in poverty alleviation and sustainable growth. It creates a basis for sustainable rural development and improvement of living standards. Through appropriate management of land, water, and waste agriculture can promote environmental sustainability. Agricultural development promoted by the donors is aimed to increase production efficiency and promote new technologies and sustainable use of resources. Today when the World faces the challenge of nearly doubling food production in order to meet the food needs of an increasing population, combined with environmental challenges, agricultural development receives an increased importance.

ABG experience in the sector covers:

  • Development of agriculture, including quality of agricultural production, innovations in production cycle etc.;
  • Agricultural research, know-how transfer and innovation, including institutional capacity building in the national research institution, field trials, surveys;
  • Development of livestock sector including veterinary services, desease control and surveillance systems, livestock registration;
  • Development of agricultural trade, including disadvantaged areas (export stimulation strategies, commodity exchanges, warehouses and retail trade, geographic indicators etc.);
  • Marketing of agricultural products, including standardisation and certification, support to national marketing associations;
  • Establishment of Market Information Systems to increase market transparency and incomes of rural producers;
  • Processing industry development;
  • Risk management and agricultural insurance;
  • Development of rural advisory services and local support infrastructure, e.g. rural Enterprise Development Agencies, machinery rings, rural business-incubators etc.

Our Key Projects in Agriculture and Marketing:

Country – Mongolia
Donor – EuropeAid
Duration – 60months
Status – completed

Country – Kosovo
Donor – GIZ
Duration – 6 months
Status – completed

Country – Kyrgyzstan
Donor – EuropeAid
Duration – 24 months
Status – completed

Publications related to agriculture and marketing

Highlights from Our Publications:

Seasonal Variation of Livestock Prices in Mongolia

The Animal Health and Livestock Marketing Project has established a Market Information System. Valuable data on livestock products prices has been collected during 4 years. The data has been analysed to determine the price developments during 2009-2012, seasonal trends and price variations between the provincial markets. The findings for 10 key products have been summarised in this publications to assist herders, market experts and consultants to better understand the livestock product’s markets in Mongolia.

How to Create a Machinery Ring

The objective behind this manual was to present the concept of machinery ring which is a form of farmers’ cooperation aimed at multi-farm use of agricultural machinery. Lack of agricultural machinery was one of the acutest problems faced by individual farms in Kazakhstan during that time. Therefore the machinery rings could become a possible solution to overcome this lack and to allow cost effective use of available machinery. The manual provided important information of the idea itself, machinery costs calculations, relevant legal and financial issues. It was successfully used to establish 6 machinery rings in Aktobe region.

Fodder Production Manual

 

Most of the cattle production in Mongolia is still extensive with animals feeding on pastures all year round. It is one of the development priorities for Mongolian agriculture to improve feed system and develop efficient fodder production. Fodder production manual summarised important findings of the field trials implemented by the project as well as provided in-depth information about forage plants, agri-technology, improvement of fodder quality, feeding systems, etc. It has been printed in 3 parts in Mongolian language.

Farmer's Diary

  • Project: Development of Credit to Private Rural Farmers, Moldova

 

The  Farmer’s Diary was published together with the Moldova Agroindbank. It provided key information related to legislation, agricultural production, business and marketing as well as places for the notices.