Expertise in Action: Our Selected Projects
agriculture and marketing
>> PROJECT :
Support to Fruit and Vegetables Marketing Structures
- Country - Bulgaria
- Donor - GTZ
- Duration - 24 months
- Status - completed
ABG was commissioned by GTZ to execute a technical assistance project aimed at fostering the development of fruit and vegetable markets in Bulgaria. Spanning over a duration of 2 years, the project was situated in Haskovo, Sliven, Pazardjiik, Plovdiv, and Sofia.
This TA component implemented by ABG was part of a broader combined financial and technical assistance project involving bilateral (GTZ) and multinational donors (EBRD). The project’s foundation stemmed from a master plan, emphasizing the necessity of designing and constructing multiple green site wholesale markets for fruits and vegetables across Bulgaria. The underlying assumption was that the establishment of such markets would significantly enhance marketing conditions and indirectly improve production conditions for fruit and vegetables, ultimately aiding Bulgaria in reclaiming its pivotal role as an exporter in this domain.
Funded by EBRD, a green site wholesale market was constructed in Sliven, and was further financed by KfW funds, another was erected in Haskovo. However, it became later evident that the concept of green site markets, characterized by large investment volumes and located far from major consumer markets, was economically unsustainable and ineffective for local producers. The viability of wholesale markets situated closer to urban centers, such as Sofia, was recognized as a more promising investment option.
The shortcomings of green site markets were further highlighted in Haskovo and Sliven, where ABG found the existing wholesale markets largely underutilized. Despite this, stakeholders continued to advocate for the construction of additional green site markets in Burgas, Plovdiv, or Pleven with significant investments.
Practical results achieved by ABG include:
- Savings of €0.35 million initiated by ABG led to the reallocation of funds, approved by KfW, to rebuild and expand existing marketing structures in Pazardjik, resulting in a highly successful investment with a turnover 100 times higher than that of Haskovo and Sliven combined (investment approximately €10 million).
- The Ministry of Agriculture was informed of the high risks associated with the promotion of green site wholesale markets, as well as the substantial financial burden resulting from misguided investments in Haskovo and Sliven.
- A new strategy for market structure development was formulated and presented.
- A comprehensive concept detailing the utilization of remaining KfW credit funds (approximately €5 million) to ensure proper repayment was elaborated and discussed.
- An agricultural advisory center system was established and operational in five Bulgarian production areas, addressing the needs of rural entrepreneurs and producers.
- Monthly publication and distribution of a market information bulletin and farmers‘ information bulletin, with circulation exceeding 2000 copies.
- Training provided to over 3000 farmers on marketing and production issues.
- Support for the establishment and operation of three producer groups through a bottom-up approach.
- Development and implementation of a credit program resulting in a 99% repayment rate for working capital credits disbursed to farmers.
- Formulation and presentation of strategies to restructure the markets of Haskovo and Sliven to minimize losses.
- Prevention of new investments in inefficient green site markets during the TA Project contracted to ABG.
- Despite the challenging context of the project, characterized by continued advocacy for oversized green site markets with substantial investments, ABG thoroughly identified technical and financial weaknesses in the prevailing strategy, proposed an alternative approach, and demonstrated the success of this alternative strategy through various examples
Other Projects in Agriculture and Marketing
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- Animal Health and Livestock Marketing Project, Mongolia
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