Newsletter No.

2, June 2012

CeProSARD
Memorandum of Understanding A Memorandum of Understanding between the Center for promotion of sustainable agricultural practices and rural development CeProSARD, Skopje represented by Mrs. Svetlana Petrovska, Executive Director and The Centre for Development of the SouthEast Region, Strumica represented by Mrs.Zulieta Gjurkova, Head of Centre has been signed. Read more For us Dear readers and associates, welcome to the second e-newsletter of the Center for promotion of sustainable agricultural practices and rural development CeProSARD Skopje. In this issue, I would like to introduce you to the organizational structure and operation of our Association. The work of CeProSARD is governed by Statute and is consistent with the legislation of the Republic of Macedonia. Bodies of the Association acting through the CeProSARD members are: Assembly, Executive Board, Advisory Body, Supervisory Board and Executive Director. The Assembly is the highest organ of the Association and consists of all members of the Association. All citizens have the right to become members of the Association Center for promotion of sustainable agricultural practices and rural development CeProSARD Skopje by completing the admission application form. The members of the Association can be: active, associate and honorary. Basic principles of operation of the Association are: - respecting the autonomy, independence and initiative of every Association member; - equality in exercising the rights and obligations of each member of the Association; - equality in freedom, rights and obligations of each member regardless of gender, race, color, nationality and social background, political and religious beliefs, property and social status. The Assembly decides validity in the presence of more than half of its total active members. Decisions, conclusions and guidelines adopted at the Assembly are binding on all members of the Association and are adopted by a majority vote of members present. The Assembly's work is open to the public. CeProSARD will hold its regular annual Assembly in June 2012. Members of the Association will be notified on the exact date and location in writing. If you are interested, you are welcome to join CeProSARD! Please contact us at info@ceprosard.org.mk. Svetlana Petrovska MSc Executive Director of CeProSARD

The third Steering Committee meeting of the AgroEnergy Project On 16th of February, 2012 the third Steering Committee (SC) meeting of the AgroEnergy Project was held. The meeting was chaired by the Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Economy, Mr. Zoran Konjanovski. The role of the Project Steering Committee is to review and follow decisions and reports within project implementation and propose changes according to policy changes and interventions. Read more

A BALKAN TALE Exhibition of photos opened in Kursumli Ann, Old Bazar 5 Photographers, 50 Monuments, 1 Balkan Tale Another interesting and beautiful project took shape through the hard work of the CeProSARD team in the form of an Exhibition of 50 photos made by 5 Photographers. The exhibition was held in Kurshumli Inn, Old Bazaar, Skopje. This time in the front line was Ivana Petkanovska as project coordinator and Svetlana Petrovska as Director of the organization. The rest of the team also supported throughout the preparation of the event up until the last minute. At the opening we had special guests representing the EU Delegation Mr. Robin Liddell and Mr. Thomas Diekhaus Head of the Goethe Institute in Skopje. In their speeches they emphasised the importance of such projects, especially in the Balkans region where the Ottoman presence lasted from th th the 14 to the 19 centuries and today the memory of this period remains hidden in buildings that have changed their use or have fallen into total disrepair due to negligence or destruction. Read more CeProSard celebrated its fourth birthday The event was organized in the EU Information Center in Skopje. The Ambassador of the Kingdom of Sweden in Republic of Macedonia, H.E. Lars Wahlund, was one of our guests and he praised CeProSARD and its activities, the hard work done by our organization and the professionalism of our experts. The next speaker was Mr. Joseph Lessard, USAID Economic Growth Office Director in Macedonia, who pointed out that most of the employees in CeProSARD are women and that he personally believes that women are generally more open to new ideas and more hard-working. The last but not least important speaker was Mr. Filip Ivanov, Director in the Ministry of Environment and Physical Planning and Chairperson of CeProSARD Advisory Board who also highly evaluated the activities of CeProSARD in the first four years, and wished us to add a zero to this number and to continue with our work for at least 40 years. After this, our Executive Director, Ms. Svetlana Petrovska and Gabriela Micevska, Head of Agriculture and Rural Development, briefly presented the work of the organization and its achievements in the last four years, and after that the brief movie about the AgroEnergy Project and the implemented pilotunits was presented. The event was also attended by the farmers, owners of the pilot units involved in the Project. The CeProSARD team would like to thank all guests for their presence at this event, as well as to thank all associates for their successful work in the last four years.

The visit of Governor Howard Dean, a former presidential candidate in the USA to Skopje organised by the National Democratic Institute (NDI). Liliana Tanevska our colleague representing CeproSARD met Governor Howard a former presidential candidate in the USA Dean, a former presidential candidate in the USA, on the occasion of his visit to Skopje organised by the National Democratic Institute (NDI). Governor Dean currently works as an independent consultant focusing on subjects including health care, early childhood development, and alternative energy sources. During his visit the Governor shared his ideas on how the Republic of Macedonia can develop in these areas. Read more

REGISTRATION FOR TRAINING ON USE OF RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES AND IMPROVING ENERGY EFFICIENCY The project "Promotion of sustainable agricultural practices, energy efficiency and using renewable energy sources in rural communities of the Republic of Macedonia" AgroEnergy conducted by CeProSARD, and funded by the Swedish Agency for Cooperation and Development - SIDA, informs all interested parties that there is an ongoing application period for training on the use of renewable energy sources and improving energy efficiency. The training courses will be implemented in the period from May to December 2012. Read more The IPARD Information toolkit on our web site The IPARD information toolkit is a useful tool for thouse applying for funds from the IPARD Programme (2007-2013). This tool enables farmers and potential investors to find information on companies offering equipment which procurment with IPARD Programme funds. The IPARD programme objective is to improve competitiveness of agricultural production and agricultural food production sector. This is done by implementing appropriate measures for supporting agriculture and rural development and supporting their Community compliance. Thus sustainable environment and socialeconomic development of rural areas are promoted, which consequently motivates economic activity and increases the number of employment opportunities. Read more
CENTER FOR PROMOTION OF SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT
CeProSARD

CeProSARD
Agro Energy project WASTE IS NOT GARBAGE Globally the price of energy is unstable and is constantly rising. This encourages us to think about alternative ways to produce energy. Energy is everywhere around us, but first, we need to take into consideration the available resources and to find the most efficient way for their utilization. The waste biomass is a useful energy source which can be utilized in a simple manner. If we do not have sufficient quantities of biomass from our own production, we can analyze the surroundings and identify additional sources of waste biomass. One of the pilot units of the Agroenergy project is located in the village of Murtino and is the property of Daniel Palankov, early season vegetables producer. The pilot unit consists of equipment for production of pellets from wood industry waste and a system for heating the PVC tunnel. In Bogorodica, a village near Gevgelija, the pilot unit of Damjan Smilkov, producer of cut flowers who has installed a heating system in his PVC tunnel which operates on pellets, brickets or wood is located. Both pilot units are co-financed by the Agroenergy project, implemented by CeProSard and supported by the Government of the Kingdom of Sweden. I first got the idea when I saw the huge bills for electricity and oil. I was already thinking about stopping the production due to the high cost for heating the PVC tunnels, explains Danail. Production of seedlings is very specific and has to be done in optimal conditions, thus this type of PVC tunnels heating is of great value especially in the winter period. The system consists of a machine which produces pellets from waste wood (sawdust) and a boiler that operates on pellets. The process is completely automated, and the automated program controls the temperature in the PVC tunnel in line with the entry parameters. Once heated, the water circulates through the pipe system in the plastic tunnel, releases the heat and returns to the boiler. Read more An initiative for establishing an umbrella organization of agricultural cooperatives in Republic of Macedonia Upon an initiative of 14 agricultural cooperatives from Republic of Macedonia, with the support from CeProSARD, the incorporation assembly of the Macedonian Association of Agricultural Cooperatives was held (AC). The advantages from the establishment of this umbrella association include: provision of information, improved market needs monitoring and strengthening the capacities of the cooperatives. The cooperation will contribute to economic development of cooperatives, of individual farmers and of rural areas in general. The objective of the umbrella association is to promote the cooperative type of association, to increase the competitiveness in the country and abroad and actively to participate in policy creation and provision of technical assistance, all these through collaboration with the cooperatives and governmental institutions. On its first meeting MAAC defined its organizational structure, as well as the composition of its Supervisory and Steering Boards. Read more Sub-sector standing group - fruits and vegetables workshop AgBiz Program - USAID Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management in cooperation with CeProSARD organized a workshop in Strumica, on preparation of Annual Work Programme of subsectors groups of fruits and vegetables. The workshop is organized as part of the component Strengthen public-private dialogue through effective representation of the value chain for fresh fruits and vegetables and processed vegetables, within AgBiz program funded by USAID. Sub-sector standing group is made up of nominated representatives from associations in the field of agricultural production, processing of agricultural products and trade in agricultural Products. Also members and representatives with advisory role of higher education and scientific institutions in the relevant area of agriculture and representatives of consumer associations and the National Extension Agency of Republic of Macedonia. Read more

GUIDELINES FOR THE IPARD INFORMATION TOOLKIT

Resource Efficiency Gains and Green Growth Perspectives in Macedonia CeProSARD prepared a study for FES (Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung) Macedonia, that is a country analysis with regard to ecological perspectives and climate change policies. The aim was to assess the potential of the country to enhance its energy efficiency and to pursue longterm sustainable green growth strategies. Read more

CENTER FOR PROMOTION OF SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT st.Orce Nikolov 172, 1000 Skopje, phone/fax: +389 2 3061 391 e-mail: info@ceprosard.org.mk, web page: www.ceprosard.org.mk