Local/Regional Economic Development in South ... - Value Chains

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Impact and benefits for the partner country
The measures to promote the cultivation and collection
of medicinal and spice plants in accordance with international
standards will contribute to securing and creating
jobs and income opportunities in marginal regions
through the sustainable use of natural resources.
The knowledge transfer taking place in the implementation
of the GACP guidelines guarantees that allowances
will be made for environmental, social and economic aspects.
The introduction of controlled collection and the
cultivation of wild plants according to Good Agricultural
Practices (GAP) will relieve the pressure on endangered
plant stocks. These are the major prerequisites for Albania
to retain its position in the long term as the main European
export country.
The measures for qualifying and thus professionalizing local
workers, for promoting partnership in collector and
cultivator initiatives as well as the incentives for longer
term investments will lead to the stabilization of the professional
group of collectors and agricultural workers. The
creation of income opportunities and jobs is a major prerequisite
for a sustainable improvement of the social situation
of the people in North Albania.
The improvement of the cultivation systems and production
technologies will lead to rising productivity and quality
and thus in the end to rising profits. Reducing production
fluctuations caused by bad weather through better
cultivation planning and methods will make it possible
to supply buyers worldwide on a steady basis. Greater delivery
reliability, better product quality and rising delivery
quantities will make it possible in the long term for
Albanian suppliers to exert stronger influence on delivery
conditions and pricing in the export business. Speculative
market conditions can thus be largely reduced.
The following can already be noted as successes worth
mentioning:
• The independent modernization of the warehouses
through the local partners
• The installation of changing rooms, toilets and
shower stalls for the personnel in accordance with international
hygiene and safety standards
• The step-by-step introduction of documentation and
quality assurance systems
• The signing of the statement “Production of highgrade
medicinal plants in Albania at a pharmaceutical
quality level” by all the participants in the training
events
Lessons learned
The Albanian suppliers initially had reservations about the
PPP project. After all, a German firm’s interests as a buyer
are important. However, it was possible to dispel the mis-
givings by signing an agreement in which the rights and
duties of all contractual partners were laid down.
Albanian circles with related expertise noted the cooperation
with KRÄUTER MIX GmbH with interest.
The hands-on teaching of necessary and usable skills gives
the participants the opportunity to prove their competence
and reliability and thus to qualify for the partnership
with KRÄUTER MIX GmbH and its local partner. This
qualification creates the basis for the further development
and modernization of their own businesses and thus for
additional, more lucrative orders.
In the interest of long-term supplier relations, the company
KRÄUTER MIX GmbH has made unmistakably
clear that reliability is a prerequisite for lasting cooperation.
In this connection, the participants in the trainings
were shown how they themselves are members of a production
chain that stretches from the raw materials (including
upstream markets) to the end consumer. In such
a value chain, each individual is responsible for having
his/her contribution to the production of the end product
correspond to the statutory standards and to those agreed
to with the buyers.
Recommended reading
www.wiram.com
Contacts
Ismail Beka, GTZ OE 3111 Albania
ismail.beka@gtz.de
Ulrike Gantzer-Sommer, GTZ OE 3112
ulrike.gantzer-sommer@gtz.de