Recent assignments

As a continuation of its assistance to Serbia’s berry industry to diversify production and expand exports or substitute for imports, the USAID Agribusiness Project is supporting efforts by interested stakeholders to establish commercial production of cranberries, and assists with the development of local expertise on the management of cranberry beds and in the production of cranberry planting material. The project has hired Mr. Robert Tomesh, horticulture specialist from University of Wisconsin-Extension, who has spent two and a half weeks in Serbia advising current cranberry growers and specialists on various issues related to establishing cranberry bed and its management. 

In early May 2010 Mr. Tomesh, supported by local consultant Miss Jasminka Milivojevic, has delivered a series of trainings on cranberry production and propagation technologies to businesses and individuals who have interest in this new product for Serbia. The training sessions took place in Belanovica, Belgrade and Cacak respectively, and were organized in cooperation with Prima-borovnica Cooperative and Faculties of agriculture at Belgrade and Kragujevac Universities. Over the course of field advisory and training activities over a 210 participants, including cranberry growers, students of agriculture, ABDS providers and processing companies, have received recommendations tailored to local conditions and have become familiar with production know-how and propagation techniques. This way they also became able to expand their current cranberry production and/or processing businesses.

In the period from February 15 - 27, USAID Agrobusiness Project has organised the assignment of prof. Christopher Watkins from Cornell University, New York, who is specialised in apple post harvest tretment and storage in ULO conditions.

During the field visits conducted, prof. Watkins has provided technical consultancy for cooperatives and companies that are involved in storing apples in controled atmosphere conditions. Consultancy has covered issues like determination of right harvest moment, follow up and maintaining the right quality of stored fruit, choosing storage parameters (temperature, level of oxygen, carbon-dioxide and nitrogen) depending on the variety, organisation of harvest, postharvest, fruit reception, storage, delivery and all other activities influencing fruit quality that are responsible for achieving the maximum effect of storing apples in ULO conditions.