Recommendations from the First session of Working Group 1 – Agriculture and Rural Development (Chapter 11) – “How to make a better use of IPARD2”

RECOMMENDATIONS

March 20, 2018

1. Improvement of structural conditions for better utilization of funds under the IPARD2 program: • the creation of structural conditions for the implementation of investments in fixed assets (construction facilities) to be set as a top-level priority, • the process of adopting detailed urban plans in the municipalities to be accelerated and completed as soon as possible, • the documentation for projects involving construction activities and those legalization requirements that are intended for the use of IPARD should have priority over other requirements, • all relevant institutional registries related to IPARD to be completed and linked with each other, • the amendments to the Law on Consolidation of Agricultural Land to be adopted since it is one of the pre-conditions for overcoming the issues of property and legal rights.
2. Facilitating the conditions for providing technical documentation: • the procedures for procurement of the necessary documentation to be simplified and the possibilities to procure some of the documents ex officio from AFSARD to be considered (some examples indicated by the concerned parties: a lease agreement on state land, evidence of ownership structure, documents on the impact of the investment on the environment, a certificate from the Public Revenue Office, etc.), • the possibilities for facilitating requests for offers and documents from abroad to be considered (for example, accepting pro-invoices from foreign firms sent by e-mail and facilitating the requirement for proof of ownership of the tenderer’s ownership structure), • To clearly determine what the documents issued by the competent institutions (municipalities, ministries, other state institutions) should contain.
3. More efficient organization of public calls: • various options for publishing calls to be considered (for example, one possible option is an open public call during the whole year with determined decision periods for application assessment; another • possible option is the public call to be released in phases by specific measures, which will not coincide with the release period of public calls for the national program), • a time frame with specified deadlines to be set for all stages of the process (the call, the approval of the application, the implementation, the monitoring and control), and this timeframe to be in line with the agricultural activities, • a more efficient procedure to be introduced when assessing the applications
4. Introduction and accreditation of new measures in the program:

• the accreditation process of the new IPARD2 measures to be accelerated so to contribute to a better and a more successful utilization of the program (for example, the measure concerning investments in rural public infrastructure), • to create conditions for introduction and accreditation of new measures as soon as possible (measures concerning advisory services and local development strategies – LEADER approach), • to additionally increase the co-financing where possible (for example, for women farmers), • the process of programming, inclusion and accreditation of measures for the next programming period to start in a timely manner so that the use of the funds can be initiated on time, • in the next IPARD programming period, more attention and funds should be directed towards the measures for development of rural areas (investments in rural public infrastructure, diversification, LEADER, etc.) and towards measures intended for forestry (through prior introduction of pilot measures in the national program).
5. Improvement of the capacity of the institutions: • to strengthen the capacity of the institutions related to the implementation of IPARD (in particular the IPARD Management Authority – Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Economy, the Agency for Financial Support of Agriculture and Rural Development and the National Extension Agency): • to increase the number of employees, with expert and professional staff; to improve the knowledge and skills of the employees with trainings; • to introduce financial incentives for employees who have increased engagement and scope of work related to IPARD; • to improve working conditions (office conditions and office materials).
6. Better information and communication regarding the program: • To raise the awareness among the users about the opportunities offered by IPARD2, especially in direction of undertaking new development investments, innovations, value added, and not just procurement of mechanization, • To improve the information to the end users with a more efficient system of promotional activities and timely communication, more frequent information sessions and educational debates: the events to be held in the villages in a period suitable for farmers (when they have no obligations; in the evening hours); • to organize thematic events (for only one target group, or appropriate selection of a specific production region so to offer information on the possibilities for that subsector); the main but also the more detailed information to be transferred in a simple and understandable language (for example, to offer a visual guide including what to expect users before, during and after the application and approval of the project; to present successful examples from the country and abroad, etc.), • To introduce a regular information and training for public and private advisors regarding the program, the preparation of applications, and the development of the business plans,

• To introduce a regular media information about the program, as well as a specialized training for journalists, • To improve the communication between institutions in the area of continuous information exchange (for example, between NEA and AFSARD, between NGOs and institutions, etc.), • To complement the work of the IPARD Monitoring Committee: with more frequent meetings so to monitor the utilization of the program more transparently and effectively, and with regular participation of the non-governmental organizations (agricultural associations, chambers of commerce, processors and agricultural cooperatives that have met the conditions for socio-economic partners of MAFWE in accordance with the Law on Agriculture and Rural Development).