Elisabetta Sartorel of the EU Delegation to the Republic of Serbia and President of Cajetina Municipality Milan Stamatovic officially opened a small creamery Nasa Zlatka in Kriva Reka. Apart from restaurateurs and hoteliers from Zlatibor, the ceremony was attended by representatives from Montenegro, the Ministry of European Integration and the Ministry of Agriculture of Serbia and numerous business associates.
EU Delegation representative Elisabetta Sartorel said that she was assured the creamery had professionals working on modern equipment and called the Municipality of Cajetina to re-apply for funding under similar projects of tremendous importance for the Zlatibor County and the country as a whole.
In his opening speech, Cajetina Municipality President talked about the importance of the project, aimed at supporting small producers in line with municipal strategic plans. He said the project prevented monopoly and created a platform for strengthening and conservation of rural areas. Setting up of the mini creamery will help to preserve authentic traditional production and create a branded product with a designation of origin.
“We owe a particular debt of gratitude to the European Union which recognized the importance of the project and offered a chance for development which in turn will create better working, business and living conditions. Our goal is to apply the same principle on any other product that cannot be found elsewhere,” Stamatovic said.
Miljana Matovic addressed the audience on behalf of the Ministry of European Integration and said that the project was one of five supported under the third call for proposals of the Serbia-Montenegro Cross-Border Cooperation Programme. Out of 139 proposals submitted within the call published in 2015, the creamery project was approved for funding as one of the development projects with a strong economic component.
“The goal of the project is to maximize the capacity of natural resources and stock-farming as well as traditional activities of the Municipality of Cajetina,” Matovic said.
Vice-President of the Risk Assessment Council Zoran Micevic also addressed the audience on behalf of the Ministry of Agriculture and said that such projects secured the placement of milk in the market, guaranteed purchase price and agricultural products processing facilities in villages, all of which contributed to survival and development of Serbian agriculture.
Project Manager and Director of the public company Zlatiborski Eko Agrar Vladimir Bojovic said that Nasa Zlatka creamery would be buying up milk exclusively from small producers based in the Municipality of Cajetina, adding that the goal is to strengthen their operation and increase their income through secured market placement of crude milk. Before reaching a wider tourism market, authentic products with added value, such as Zlatibor cheese and cream, will be available exclusively in selected hotels and restaurants.
Nasa Zlatka creamery is a result of the project From Hills to Dairies, implemented by the Municipality of Cajetina and Zlatiborski Eko Agrar in partnership with municipalities Plav and Andrijevica in Montenegro. The EUR175,000 project was funded by the European Union within the third call for proposals of the Serbia-Montenegro Cross-Border Cooperation Programme. The project was started in September 2016 and will run through February 2018.
The first stage of the project included reconstruction and adaption of the cattle market in Kriva Reka. Modern equipment for production of cheese and cream has been installed at the mini creamery Nasa Zlatka in line with food safety and quality standards, with the first batch of Zlatibor cheese and cream already made. The second phase includes a brand positioning promotional campaign, aimed primarily at hotels and restaurants in Zlatibor as well as specialised traditional products retail shops.
