Southern Serbia Program Making an Immediate Impact

In recent years the southern municipalities of Serbia have been especially hard hit by the country’s economic collapse, a deteriorating infrastructure, ethnic tension and political uncertainty. Photo: Mercy Corps

From bakeries to bee associations, one of Mercy Corps’ newest programs is providing a needed stimulus to economically depressed communities and small businesses in southern Serbia.

After the first 100 days of the program, the Southern Serbia Community Revitalization Program (SSCRP) has handed out grants and provided technical assistance to small businesses, local entrepreneurs and professional associations that are expected to generate more than $740,000 annually for the local economies, while also creating hundreds of new jobs.

Working with municipal leaders and local partners, Mercy Corps has quickly identified businesses and key economic sectors to receive training and funding that will increase productivity and enable the commercialization of local products. To date, SSCRP has handed out more than $400,000 in small grants ranging in size from $4,000 to $40,500 which have had an immediate impact:

• Prokuplje Bee Association received a $27,425 grant that has helped to create 80 new jobs and increased honey production output by 40 percent.
• Bata & Yugi Mill/Bakery’s $40,500 grant has helped to double its production.
• Stevanovich Greenhouse has increased its agricultural input production, a key sector in southern Serbia, by 20 percent after receiving a $29,250 grant.

Additionally, Mercy Corps is targeting specific economic areas for further assistance, including agriculture, which is southern Serbia’s primary economic activity but still relies on outdated and inefficient equipment. For example, the average tractor is 18 years old and roughly 50 percent of combine harvesters are not operational.

SSCRP is a one-year pilot project for a five-year $40 million grant from the US Agency for International Development (USAID), the largest grant in Mercy Corps’ history. The program’s goal is to assist eight municipalities to promote inter-community cooperation and participation and identify priority development needs in the areas of economic opportunity, infrastructure rehabilitation, environmental protection and improved civil participation.

In recent years the southern municipalities of Serbia have been especially hard hit by the country’s economic collapse, a deteriorating infrastructure, ethnic tension and political uncertainty. Unemployment rates have rocketed and outside investment has dried up. The region also hosts hundreds of thousands refugees and internally displaced people.

Mercy Corps has been active in Serbia since the fall of 2000, initially distributing winter clothes to refugees and local citizens in need.