SEEDEV

Priority to the local actors: the most valuable expertise in the field of agricultural and rural development is provided by the farmers and rural communities themselves. Therefore our action is mainly oriented towards the strengthening of local capacities and the support to local initiatives.

Institutional links: our assumption is that agricultural or rural development cannot be envisaged independently from the institutional framework and policies at the national as well as local level. As far as possible, we want our actions to be firmly connected to the institutions and integrated in the policies of the concerned countries, regions and municipalities. This includes, for example, our participation in the implementation of the Agricultural Strategy, Poverty Reduction Strategies and the Stability Pact as defined by the SEE countries.

Education: SEEDEV gives a high priority to education and vocational training, both within its network of partners and among its senior and junior experts, and for the benefit of the final beneficiaries: rural communities, economic stakeholders, farmers, processors and SMEs�. Our development strategy aims to build strong partnerships with highly experienced organisations within the EU and Switzerland, which are able to transfer updated know-how and knowledge.

Interregional cooperation: cooperation between the various countries of SEE is an obvious political, as well as economic, challenge. SEEDEV is committed to strengthening this regional cooperation by respecting the specificity and identity of each stakeholder. In accordance with this ethos, SEEDEV has been registered simultaneously in Zagreb and in Belgrade, and established strong partnership with organisations of neighbouring countries.

Cooperation with EU countries and Switzerland: the integration of SEE in the European community and market is another serious challenge. By its very multinational structure, with members and partners from across the continent, SEEDEV's orientation is firmly oriented towards Europe.

Evaluation: to evaluate and be able to evaluate the impact of our actions and policies is considered a key issue in the success of agricultural and rural development strategies. SEEDEV is therefore committed to define and to apply evaluation tools and methodologies.