UN commission for Europe and Israel host workshop on developing agribusiness

The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (ECE) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Israel are hosting a weeklong workshop examining ways to enhance development for farming communities - one of the key elements for assisting and improving rural income opportunities and economic growth.

The International Workshop on Agribusiness Enterprise Development, which kicked off in Israel yesterday and will run through next Tuesday, aims to acquaint policy makers and civil servants responsible for agribusiness development in their countries with both international and specifically with Israeli experience of agribusiness enterprise development at national, regional and local levels.

In rural agricultural sector development, agribusiness entrepreneurship is a key element in assisting and improving rural income opportunities and economic growth. In this context, agribusiness enterprise development is an important factor in promoting sustainable agricultural and rural sector development. These activities constitute a growing phenomenon both in industrial and developing countries.

Israel's own agricultural and rural sectors, both at the national and regional levels including the primary village level, have developed various agribusiness enhancement mechanisms and financing systems. These systems have been developed to support the ongoing specialization and market-driven orientation of the sector, particularly related to high quality and export market production and agribusiness entrepreneurship.

Over the last 10 years, Israel has cooperated intensively with the countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), generating a solid professional methodological base together with practical agribusiness development at the field level in a wide range of agribusiness entrepreneurship project activities.

Representatives from 15 transition economies, including several Deputy Ministers for agriculture and foods, are expected to attend the Workshop, which will focus on recent case studies reflecting Israel's experiences in overseas technical cooperation programmes in the field of agribusiness development.

The programme will combine professional presentations, case studies and lessons, field visits to various agribusiness enterprises of different sizes, and round-table discussions related to topics of priority regarding agribusiness entrepreneurship, support services and management capacity building.