MNCCI working closely with JICA on MONMAP-AVC – ‘Mongolian Agricultural Sector Value Chain Master Plan Project’

Ulaanbaatar/MONTSAME/. The agriculture and livestock industry in Mongolia accounts for about 13% of the GDP and about 30% of the working population engages in this industry. As it is also a key industry for industrial diversification, the Mongolian government is strengthening its policies to promote the processing and export of agricultural and livestock products. Therefore, Mongolia and Japan have decided to work together to strengthen the competitiveness of Mongolian agricultural and livestock products in the market and to formulate a strategic Master Plan for the promotion of the value chain (VC) of the agriculture and livestock industry, taking into account the regional characteristics. MONMAP-AVC is being implemented by JICA in collaboration with the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Light Industry and the National Development Agency. The project is carrying out the below activities with the aim of sustainable development in the agricultural sector for 2020-2023. To formulate a strategic master plan and action plan proposing the development of a sustainable agriculture and livestock value chain. To implement pilot activities improving efficiency and quality in the agriculture and livestock value chain. To provide the institutional groundworks for the management of the marketing strategy through the establishment of an Agricultural Marketing Platform (AMP). Within the framework of this project, the Mongolian National Chamber of Commerce and Industry and JICA Project Team for the project ‘Formulation of Master Plan on the Agricultural Value Chain in Mongolia (MONMAP-AVC)’ signed a Memorandum of Understanding to create the partnership between the two organizations on 12 May, 2021. The MOU aims to achieve the below purposes: -To set up a cluster of agricultural and livestock products including honey and target export-oriented agriculture products and others, in order to effectively link resources such as agricultural and livestock products, human resources, and technology across the country to create new products, support sales channels and promote the export of Mongolian brands to the international market; -To strengthen the agricultural value chain in Mongolia by planning and implementing the production, processing and distribution of agricultural and livestock products with a focus on domestic and international sales, while using the existing clusters; -To carry out SMEs’ Pilot Activities selection in the rural area to solve business problems in the production, processing, distribution and marketing of local agricultural and livestock products and support their initiative; -To ensure close collaboration with the other party to work together to achieve the above. In 2021, MNCCI and MONMAP project team are working on two areas: establishing a honey cluster and implementing a pilot project to support local agricultural products. 1. Establish a honey cluster A working group has been established to develop guidelines to facilitate the introduction of good practices in honey production and to establish a honey cluster. The working group includes following members: The Food Industry Policy Implementation Coordination Department of the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Light Industry, Inspection Agency of Mongolia, the Mongolian Agency for Standard and Metrology, the Project and Program Department of the Mongolian National Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Local Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Selenge province, the Mongolian Beekeepers Association, the beekeeper’s group of Batsumber soum, Tuv aimag, beekeepers, researchers and private sector representatives. The honey cluster will be officially established in March 2022. 2. Implement the pilot projects to support local agricultural products Two pilot projects supporting local agricultural products will be implemented through the 21 branches of the MNCCI, and each project will receive funding up to $ 20,000. A pilot project orientation meeting will be held online on May 21, 2021, and project proposals will be received until June 31. Submitted project proposals will be advised by the Project Program Department of the Mongolian National Chamber of Commerce and Industry and JICA project experts. Source: MNCCI