Brief description Prevention of classical swine fever (CSF) spreading in the cross-border region through improvements to sanitary standards and education of farmers.
Region Intra Western Balkan borders
Countries Croatia (HR) – Serbia (SRB)
Location HR: Osijek-Baranja County; Municipalities of Erdut, Bilje, Draž, Popovac, Čeminac, Magadenovac and Semeljci
SRB: Južnobački and Sremski District; City of Novi Sad; Municipalities of Bač, Bačka Palanka, Šid, Ruma, Sremska Mitrovica
Type of project partners Regional government units
Public bodies/institutions
Size (total budget including EU grants) € 200,000 to € 500,000
Main themes Agriculture and rural development
Keywords (Types of Activities) Study visits, exchanges and networking
Education and training
Conferences/major events
Construction, repairs, cleaning up
Other
Keywords (Aspects of Good Practice) Genuine cross-border dimension
Genuine cross-border impact
Innovative
Good sustainability

Background and Objectives The project aimed to reduce the risk of classical swine fever (CSF) appearance amongst family pig farms and to prevent the spread of the disease by:

  • Harmonising the implementation of bio-safety measures on family pig farms.
  • Raising awareness in CSF amongst small family pig farm owners.
  • Raising awareness of the staff involved in pig breeding in general including production of pork products
Main activities Three main groups of activities were carried out as part of this project:
1. Education of farmers, hunters, owners and workers in slaughterhouses, owners of transportation vehicles, veterinary personnel and others through:

  • Workshops in local communities.
  • Workshops with joint attendance of persons from Serbia and Croatia.
  • Publishing, printing and distribution of brochures (10,000 copies) and manuals (4,000) about the significance of bio-safety measures for the prevention of classical swine fever.
  • Production and presentation of a small screen movie about the significance of bio-safety measures in the prevention of classical swine fever.
  • Production and broadcasting of a short radio and television broadcast about the significance of bio-safety measures in the prevention of classical swine fever.
  • Study visit of 30 farmers and educators to pig farms in Germany.

2.  Installation of disinfection barriers on family pig farms in the border region (22 on the Croatian and 18 on the Serbian side). Preparation for this activity involved compiling data on small pig farmers in the project implementation area. After the data were collected, it was possible to develop criteria for selecting farms for the installation of disinfection barriers.

3. Organisation of an International Scientific Conference on CSF, with leading researchers from Croatia and Serbia and from all of the surrounding countries.
Main results The activities of the project were successfully carried out and resulted in positive outcomes.

The project educated, through workshops, 574 participants (farmers, veterinary doctors, et al) on the topics of CSF and bio-safety measures.
The study tour to Germany met the expectations of all participants, especially the farmers, who had the opportunity to get acquainted with the latest achievements in swine breading, as well as the latest bio safety measures that ensure maximum profit in swine farming.

The International Conference held on 7 and 8 June 2012 in Novi Sad was graded very highly and its substantial proceedings were published.

The construction of the disinfection barriers achieved a significant improvement of sanitary standards on family farms. The grant beneficiaries performed follow-up and check-up of installed barriers in the second half of 2013 and all barriers were still in use. Some farmers have increased production and one third of them are in process of investing in increase of production.

The most important overall result of the project is that the CSF is successfully prevented. No CSF outbreak case has been registered on the Croatian side of the cross-border area and on the Serbian side steps have been taken that lead to the uplifting of vaccination of pigs against CSF which is the main requirement for meeting EU standards in this aspect.
Aspects of good practice

“STOP CSF” is a project with genuine cross-border impact and with excellent sustainability, especially through the disinfection barriers that contribute to the prevention of CSF and represent a solid and long lasting outcome of the project.

The partnership of the main project beneficiaries has continued, including new joint projects, and, moreover, some other 30 initiatives for new projects and other means of cooperation between various stakeholders of the cross-border area emulated “STOP CSF”.
Start and completion dates:
January 2011 – July 2012
More information http://www.croatia-serbia.com/en/projects-a-partners/1st-call-for-proposals/item/172-prevention-of-csf-spreading-in-cross-border-region-through-improvements-of-sanitary-standards-and-education-of-farmers-stop-csf

http://www.evropa.gov.rs/CBC/PublicSite/Project.aspx?ProjectId=269

http://niv.ns.ac.rs/kks/Proceedings.pdf

https://www.youtube.com/watch

https://www.youtube.com/watch

https://www.youtube.com/watch

Partner Osijek-Baranja County, www.obz.hr
Ms Silva Wendling, Head of Department for Agriculture and Rural Development of Osijek-Baranja County, Croatia
Email: silva.wendling@obz.hr
Partner Scientific Veterinary Institute “Novi Sad”, Serbia
http://niv.ns.ac.rs
Dr Sava Lazić,
Email: lazic@niv.ns.ac.rs