📋 Tender Overview
Project ID
200309
Thematic Priority
Advancing Economic Competitiveness
LocationAlbania
Project ManagerDorina NATI
Donor
Switzerland
Fund
EURO IDF - Special purpose convertible
Gender Marker1 (Limited expected contribution to GE)
Albania’s economy is steadily growing with high potential for exports in selected sectors. Within the framework of the Global Quality and Standards Programme (GQSP), the objective of the project is to strengthen the quality and standards compliance capacity to facilitate market access primarily in the medicinal and aromatic plant (MAP) sector, which will also benefit the food and vegetable (F&V) sector.For the past few years Albania has been one of Europe's top producers of medicinal and aromatic plants. This has until recently focused on wild plants such as sage, lavender and cornflowers that are harvested in the foothills, though these are being increasingly cultivated on a more commercial basis. The F&V sector is more scattered, but there are greenhouse producers in middle Albania who have shown interest in improving quality through the use of standards and accredited conformity assessment. The secondary objective of the project will be to focus on fresh fruits and vegetables cultivated in greenhouses in the geographical triangle area consisting of Lushja, Fier and Berat. Both these sectors face Quality Infrastructure-related challenges when it comes to demonstrating compliance with international market requirements, which hinders their ability to export. The project will address the challenges faced by both sectors (MAP and F&V) - primarily in terms of pesticide use and bacterial contamination - in order to reduce border rejections in key markets, and to improve both quality and productivity in these value chains. These are cross-cutting issues within the framework of the GQSP, that include the need for promoting a culture for quality in the value chains, thereby improving the quality produce/products of farmers, smallholders and producers and the capabilities of Albania’s Quality Infrastructure to support them. In line with the overall structure of the Global Quality and Standards Programme (GQSP), the project will have three complementary outcomes to respond to the main compliance challenges identified:Outcome 1: The technical competence and sustainability of the National Quality Infrastructure System and the conformity assessment services is enhanced, serving both the MAP and F&V value chains.Outcome 2: SME compliance with international standards and technical regulations is enhanced, with a focus on the MAP value chain.Outcome 3: A culture for quality is promoted, benefitting both the MAP and F&V value chains. The overarching goal of the intervention is to align Albania’s quality infrastructure institutions and services to the needs of the national production and potential export of MAP, fruits and vegetables, in view of accessing foreign markets, particularly the EU market
