KEY ELEMENTS OF SUSTAINABLE SOURCINGA Case Study from Serbia

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Tradin Organic’s Serbia operation was established from 1996 on. Forward-thinking entrepreneurship identified Serbia’s national agricultural heritage as perfect base for European organic berry cultivation - long before the Serbian government voiced their focus on sustainable agriculture through similar efforts (since 2007 through the SAA with the EU).

Tradin Organic’s partner in Serbia are Nenad Janicijevic and his company MIDI Organic. The facilities are located in Barbatovac near the Kapaonik mountains, 250km from the captial Belgrade. This region is well known for fruit production: The altitude (450 to 1000m), clean air and absence of industrial pollution makes the perfect package for organic farming. Serbia is one of the biggest producers in the world of raspberries and plums.

Tradin is the exclusive importer of the MIDI Organic fruit products ranging from IQF berries to purees to dried fruit. The Organic Fruit Factory (TOFF) is the processing facility, built in collaboration with Tradin, while MIDI Organic D.O.O. is the organic certificate holder, and thus the exporter of the fruit.All quality processes in the factory are managed by the quality team of MIDI Organic. Tradin’s local agricultural engineers provide the fruit and orchard farmers with support and training, and assist in quality sampling of the produce for export.

HOW TO START? ASAP

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THINK MOTHER NATURE AND TRADITIONS FIRST

Pesticide free organic farming helps natural life in forests & meadows to flourish. Mother Nature and traditional agricultural practices are the best collaborators.

Agriculture without mono cultures preserves rich natural plant biodiversity. Likewise the small scale of the operations, wide spread across hundreds of hectares, allows to keep the organic theory principles in line with local practices.

The berry varieties cultivated here are traditional strains. Some of the wild apple trees are as old as 100 years, and produce as much as a ton of naturally wild apples per season.

In Serbia, farmers practice traditional agricultural methods like they did 100 years ago. The local flora and fauna benefit from these naturally organic practices.

In addition most farmers keep honey bees. Serbian farmers use compost and natural manure. Applied as natural fertilizers, they increase the amount of micro-organisms, like earthworms, spiders and all kinds of insects. This is beneficial for birds and small mammals. One can find larger wild animals such as deer and wild boars in Serbian forests.

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“According to the FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius guidelines for organic food which are the fundament for the EU’s organic farming strategy, organic agriculture is a holistic production management system which promotes and enhances agro-ecosystem health, including biodiversity, biological cycles and soil biological activity.”

‘Organic Agriculture in Serbia at a Glance 2013’ National Association Serbia Organica

Especially because of Serbia’s economy being tied to traditional industries, it is a perfect setting for the new organic agricultural development: a long tradition in growing and processing of much sought-after perennials, such as raspberries and cherries, and in particular uncontaminated soil.

Serbian farmers use compost from organic household waste and natural manure from their own and their neighbours’ farms as natural fertilizer.

ENSURE A CLEAN START

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TECHNOLOGY IS NOT ALWAYS CRUCIAL

Traditional farming methods often involve a lot of manual labour due to the small size of operations.

This type of agriculture aims at maximizing natural occuring benefits, such as using rain water or light when the sun shines, hence contributes little to greenhouse gas emission.

The transport of produce from field to the processing facility is often still done by horse carriages.

Once the produce arrived at the TOFF processing facility, the reason for freezing the fresh berries directly is to maintain the highest quality possible for export.

The small processing facility uses both, the tunnel method and the IQF method to freeze the produce. The tunnel method is less energy intensive and used for smaller batches, whereas the IQF method uses more energy but is the best method for larger exports. MIDI has limited storage capacity, therefore Tradin arranges just-in-time shipment during the season to keep cooling storage to a minimum.

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SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC FACTORS

Through the collaboration with Tradin Organic 580 farmers’ families benefit from guarranteed selling of their produce. MIDI employs now 43 full-time workers and seasonally many temporary helpers.In order to distribute the products according to the requirement of the market, Tradin invested into the construction of the new processing and freezing facility in 2004, with the help of a subsidy by the Dutch government.

In addition, Tradin funded the refurbishment of a youth & community building (here on the left) in the village Barbatovac, where MIDI Organic is based.

Belgrade

Barbatovac

The social and economic implications for the region are tremendous. Long before the efforts of the Serbian government to join the EU and focus on sustainable agriculture, Tradin took the opportunities of Serbia’s agricultural heritage serious (Only in 2007 Serbia concluded a Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) with the EU. Serbia is now a candidate with prospect of accession to the EU in early 2014).Tradin’s assistance takes place on both, business and community level.

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A SUSTAINABLE OPERATION - IN NUMBERS

1734,39

1091,19

233

818,97

3877,55

2.850,43

4054

296,5 529,5

20,83 839,8

7222,26 11099.31

Areas underconversion (ha)

Organic farming areas (ha)

Percentageof total (%)Total (ha)

Crop production

Fruit production

Vegetable production

Pastures and meadows

4584,82

5145,19 46.36%

41.31%

4.77%

7.57%

100%TOTAL

ORGANIC PLANT PRODUCTION IN SERBIA 2012

Source: National Association Serbia Organica, 2012

“Organic products are typically sold to wholesalers and to processing companies, with which almost 70% of the growers conclude contracts prior to the start of the season. Direct sales e.g. on the green market are practiced only by 20% of the farmers.”

(‘Organic Agriculture in Serbia at a Glance 2013’ National Association Serbia Organica)

580 farmers, half of which fruit farmers and the other half orchard farmers, deliver their produce to MIDI Organic’s processing facility. These orchards and fields are spread over an area of 1500 hectares.

The total output of the MIDI operation for Tradin is (depending on the season) approximately 1200 tons, making it the largest supplier of organic fruit for Tradin Organic on the European continent.

MIDI Organic and their TOFF processing facility are highly flexible to get produce ready for export, both in large numbers (IQF freezer) and on smaller scale (tunnel freezer).

Because of the small organization and hands-on approach through the long-term intensive relationship between Tradin and MIDI, the operation can deliver tailor-made productions in shortest turnaround time.

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SERBIA - FACTS

Source: Index of Economic Freedome heritage.org 2011

BELGRADE

Population 7.4 million

GDP (PPP) $ 78.9 billion

1.8% growth in 2011

5-year compound annual growth 1.7%

$10,642 per capita

Unemployment 23.4%

Inflation (CPI) 11.2%

FDI Inflow $2.7 billion

Public Debt 47.9% of GDP

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MORE SUSTAINABLE SOURCING EXPERTISE

Bulgaria: Sunflower kernels

Vietnam: Pineapple

Ethiopia: Sesame seeds

Indonesia:Coconut

Pakistan:Basmati rice

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MORE INFORMATION

On Serbia & its organic agriculture:

Organic Agriculture in Serbia at a Glance 2013 (National Association Serbia Organica)

On Tradin Organic’s projects & products:

Tradin Organic Agriculture B.V.Stationsplein 61-651012 AB AmsterdamThe NetherlandsT +31 (0)20 407 4499E info@tradinorganic.comW www.tradinorganic.com

Credits: Photography © Nenad Janicijevic & Tom Wiegmans All copy (unless stated otherwise) Tradin Organic Agriculture B.V.

Certifications (amongst others):

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