Albanian Tomatoes Destined for Montenegrin Tables

Albanian Tomatoes Destined for Montenegrin Tables

Top quality greenhouse grown tomatoes from the productive farm land of Gorican are now part of the cuisine in restaurants and family dinner tables of Montenegro. The AAC Team brought an export buyer and supplier group together for this trade opportunity as part of AAC market expansion mandate .
Each week a truck from Budhva arrives in the village of Gorican. Members of the Hortigor Association meet with the exporter to first decide on the farm gate price and then allocation of quantities amongst the members to fill the order. Then a small van picks up tomatoes from one farm at a time and unloads into the buyer’s truck.

To date four loads have been shipped. According to the trader, while he is generally satisfied improvements are needed. “The group needs to organize themselves better. A community collection center and simple packing site is really needed to improve efficiency and avoid loading delays.”
The Hortigor members are satisfied with the trade relationship. As one grower said, “The trader pays above whole market price and buys at the farm gate thus lowering our costs.”

Discussions have started between the buyer and the association on procuring cucumbers. However, first the growers will have to change the variety they currently produce. “The market in the neighboring country requires a different kind of cucumber. I can only buy what he market needs “ said the buyer.

The AAC team will be working with Hortigor to assess their risks as well as opportunities for selling a new variety of cucumber into a new market.

Trader inspects tomatoes destined for export

Publications

UNICEF Home Gardens Handbook: Promoting Mixed Gardens in the Humid Tropics
UNICEF Dry Season Gardening for Improving Child Nutrition
WHO/UNICEF Gardening for Food in the Semi-Arid Tropics
Low Cost Farming in the Humid Tropics: An Illustrated Guidebook
USAID/Peace Crops Nutrition Improvement Through Mixed Gardening-A Training Manual,
University of the South Pacific, Agriculture, Food and Nutrition in the Pacific Islands
U.N. FAO Improving Nutrition Through Home Gardening
California State University, Pomona- Edible Landscaping for High Nutrition (Software)

FAO Online Catalogues

English title: Family food supply
Authors: Sommers, P.; Galloway, R.; Nanau, I.; Sinapati, A.; Wat, T.
Corp.authors: South Pacific Univ., Suva (Fiji)
Publ.place: Suva (Fiji)
Publ.date: 1990
Collation: 74 p., illus.
ISBN: 982-03-0422-9
Languages: English
AGROVOC main descr. : FOOD SUPPLY; FAMILIES; EXTENSION ACTIVITIES
AGROVOC sec. descr.: VILLAGES; DOMESTIC GARDENS; FAMILY FARMS; FOOD PRODUCTION; PLANNING; HOME ECONOMICS
AGROVOC geogr. descr.: PACIFIC ISLANDS
Project: South Pacific Community Nutrition Training Project, Fiji
Call No: 373 So8 (no.3)
Holding library: LIB
Acc.No: 317428
MFN: 317428

Improving nutrition through home gardening. A training package for preparing field workers in Africa (English) FAO, Rome (Italy). Food and Nutrition Div. , 2001 , 281 p.
Accession No: 401899, Document type: HANDBOOK, WEB RESOURCE , Job No: X3996 , ISBN 92-5-104388-4 , Call No: 635 F737(E) (RR) Field library: SAFR, 80 FAO; LOWA, 89; RLC, L/618 c.1/c.2; FAOSRL, 612.39 IMP; FAOSFE, 613.2:635.1F731
Descriptors: DOMESTIC GARDENS; GARDENING; FOOD PRODUCTION; TEACHING MATERIALS; TRAINING; EXTENSION ACTIVITIES; FOOD SECURITY; HUMAN NUTRITION; TRAINING COURSES; ADVISORY OFFICERS
Geographic coverage: AFRICA;
Related language versions: French
Full text: Other language English French
Full text: http://www.fao.org/DOCREP/003/X3996E/X3996E00.HT

The UNICEF home garden's handbook for people promoting mixed gardening in the humid tropics (English) UNICEF, New York (USA) , nd , 55 p.
Accession No: 215901, Document type: HANDBOOK , Call No: 631.5 Un 3(E) (LIB)
Descriptors: DOMESTIC GARDENS;
Geographic coverage: TROPICAL ZONES;
Loan request (FAO HQ staff only)

FAO Online Catalogues

English title: Gardening for food in the semi-arid tropics
Authors: Sommers, P.
Corp.authors: Joint WHO/UNICEF Nutrition Support Programme, Geneva (Switzerland)
Publ.place: (New York) (USA)
Publisher: UNICEF
Publ.date: 1985
Collation: 59 p.
Languages: English
Category codes: F01
Categories: F01-Crop husbandry
AGROVOC main descr. : GARDENING; FOOD CROPS
AGROVOC sec. descr.: SEMIARID ZONES; TROPICAL ZONES; SELECTION; PLANNING; IRRIGATION; HARVESTING
Call No: 631.5 Un30
Holding library: LIB
Acc.No: 257773
MFN: 257773

Sommers, P. 1985. Advancing Pacific Islands food gardening systems: Some observations and suggestions. Proceedings of the First International Workshop on Tropical Homegarden, Bandung, Indonesia, December 2-9, Institute of Ecology, Padjadjaran University, Bandung, and United Nations University, Tokyo.

Agriculture - Key Themes

Here are some of the key themes for advancing agriculture:

In order to meet the needs of the world’s poor, practitioners need to take this one step further and develop agricultural programs that leverage innovative linkages with other sectors; this includes linking agriculture with emergency response; health, water and sanitation, and nutrition; natural resource management and climate change adaptation; microfinance; learning and knowledge management; and ICT.

# Market approaches to agricultural recovery from disaster: diverse uses of vouchers
# Agriculture and nutrition to improve the health status of vulnerable households
# Multiple uses of water for agricultural sustainability
# The role of finance in agroenterprise
# Mobile technology in agricultural development

Policy processes: what political, organisational budgetary processes promote or hinder pathways to pro-poor, agriculture-led growth? What role should different actors, including Ministries of Agriculture, have in this?

Growth and social protection: what are the trade-offs and complementarities between growth and social protection objectives?

Agricultural commercialisation: what types of commercialisation of agriculture both promote growth and reduce poverty? What institutional and market arrangements are required?

Science, technology and innovation: how can agricultural technology be made to work for the poor? How are technology trajectories linked to processes of agrarian/livelihood change?

Addition Drip Line Improves Productivity and Competitiveness.doc - Windows Live

Addition Drip Line Improves Productivity and Competitivness.doc - Windows Live
Addition Drip Line Improves Productivity and Competitiveness

10 year veteran grower of early season watermelons Tani of Divjake is known by his fellow growers as a top producer. He is amongst the first to the market year after year. He is an innovator always looking for new ways to improve the productivity of his 1.2 hectare melon enterprise.
He was also the ideal candidate to carry out a demonstration of improved fertigation (fertilizer and irrigation) designed to improve productivity.
In the sandy soils of Divjake, melon growers use a single line of drip pipe to irrigate their crop. While the plant easily absorbs the fertilizer and water solution coming through the pipe only one side of the plant benefits. Research completed by the TCC Lushnje Station showed that by adding one additional line on the other side of the melon plant that it would result in better use of fertigation (cost reduction) increase yields, and earlier maturity. This technique was presented to lead melon growers during AAC’s monthly workshop series.
Tani along with two other growers were selected to demonstrate on 1000 square meters of their farm the results of the TCC work. AAC and the selected growers took observations during the critical stages of plant growth.
The results were truly amazing. The growers all agreed that the additional drip line produced larger, faster maturing fruits (by up to one week) than their control plot.
The second line also reduced the number of irrigations and the fertilizer was used more efficiently by being placed in the main feeder root zones.
According to Tani the additional cost of pipe is manual compared to the clear advantages of adding a second line.

Apple Thinning takes on new meaning for Korce.doc - Windows Live

Apple Thinning takes on new meaning for Korce.doc - Windows Live
Apple thinning takes on new meaning for Korca’s apple growers

The June practice of thinning surplus apples too improve productivity is well understood by Korca’s commercial apple growers. As part of AAC’s technical improvement package the outreach team guides growers directly in their orchards on why and how to thin so that they retained just the right amount of premium apples while insuring a good crop for next year through good bud formation and differentiation.
While growers understand the value of thinning the amount of thinning varied from farm household to farm household. Some are more risk averse retaining more apples on the tree just in case something goes wrong.
However this year there is an added incentive to do the right thing and thin apples. The AAC team has facilitated a new value added component to apple thinning. They have established a new source of revenue for the apple culls that usually remain on the soil to decompose or worst serve as a host for pests. This year Korca’s thinned apples are destined for the fragrance industry of France.
AAC has linked grower clients with a local food processor who has bought over 25 tons so far this year. The immature apples are dried and packed for export to France.
“This is a new and very important source of new revenue for us” says apple grower Fernando Goga. What was a waste product has now become a value income source especially at a time when cash flow is very limited. With this new revenue source I can now purchase the inputs required to produce a quality apple product.”