Projects

Short Description:

Overall goal

The overall objective of the Integrated Territorial Development Project (InTerDev 2) is to support inclusive and sustainable income generation and job creation for citizens in the municipalities of Dragash/Dragaš, Shtërpcë/Štrpce and Viti/Vitina.

The project’s purpose is to enhance municipal public service provision in rural development and, in a gender equitable, socially inclusive and environmentally sustainable manner, expand economic activity of local micro and small businesses.

Expected results

The implementation of this project will enhance the capacities of municipal officials in the provision of services in rural development. Furthermore, local micro and small enterprises and farmers will be supported to upgrade their businesses. The project will also create the conditions for bottom-up approaches and local-level concertation for employment generation in the form of Territorial Employment Pacts to operate at the municipal level.

Target group / Beneficiaries

The project InTerDev 2 will continue to serve citizens who are at risk of socioeconomic exclusion including local smallholder farmers, micro business initiatives, long-term unemployed and low-skilled or unskilled residents, women, youth, non-majority communities and people with disabilities. The project in its three years will serve over 700 residents out of which 50% of all targeted smallholders will be women and 40% non-majority communities, and will reach over 3,800 indirect beneficiaries. Furthermore, a variety of public, private sector, and non-governmental sector partners on the local level such as the Local Action Groups, local Employment Offices, Vocational Training Centres, the Local Development Fund, and the private sector companies in the area will be intensively engaged in the project development and implementation.

Activities

The project will enhance the capacities of municipal officials in delivering integrated and efficient rural development services to citizens by providing specialized training and learning programmes, organizing joint inter-municipal cooperation initiatives and best practice learning and knowledge sharing in rural development among the municipalities. The project will assist microenterprises, small and medium enterprises and individuals in business development by promoting regional branding and quality standards in agricultural production and by providing value chains development services. Entrepreneurs will be supported to upgrade their businesses through grant funding to business initiatives provided through the Local Development Fund. Territorial Employment Pact in Viti/Vitina will be designed and the current TEPs in Dragash/Dragaš and Shtërpcë/Štrpce will be expanded to enable job creation opportunities in agro-business and the transition to formalization of workers and enterprises. The TEPs will comprise entrepreneurship and business advisory services, training incentives and skills training grants, access to credit opportunities, active labour market measures, organization and association building, and social entrepreneurship.

Context

Located in southern part Kosovo, the municipalities of Dragash/Dragaš, Shtërpcë/Štrpce and Viti/Vitina present many similarities, both in terms of challenges and local potentials, with agriculture and small business and trade operations being the primary economic activities in the area. Their resource potential is concentrated around natural resources, agriculture and organic farming, and biodiversity. Given the high unemployment and low labour force participation rates in Kosovo, the primary necessity in the three municipalities is to create jobs or self-employment opportunities for local people with the view of income generation and improved productivity. By accenting the focus on most vulnerable groups and promoting entrepreneurship, creating a synergy between environmental protection and poverty reduction, this project aims to advance sustainable development.