The aim of Food and Agriculture SME Support Initiative (FASSI) project is to strengthen the capacity of Business Support Organisations (BSOs) in the food and agriculture sectors through technical and financial assistance. The project anticipates that strengthened BSOs will more effectively assist their members and non-member SMEs and farmers to comply with the new regulations, gain access to EU market, and improve their business relationships locally and abroad.

Business Support Organizations (BSOs) will benefit significantly from the project in a number of ways. First, BSOs will increase their knowledge of DCFTA, specifically, food safety regulations and market access, via intensive training. Second, they will gain expertise in management and organizational techniques that will assist them in effectively sharing that information with their SME members, and also in creating a feedback loop that will allow them to gather information at the grassroots level about the impact of regulation implementation. This will happen through training and consultation. Third, BSOs will acquire expertise in conducting campaigns to advocate for their members’ interests and will engage in the public-private dialogue on DCFTA and SME-related policies, with the assistance of experts. In addition, selected BSOs will receive small grants to help them implement improvements and build their capacity.

BSOs assist SMEs in complying with DCFTA-related food safety regulations and gain access to EU market.

- Improved BSO management, organization and knowledge in DCFTA related issues;
- Improved BSO ability to interact effectively with their member and non-member SMEs and farmers;
- Improved BSO capacity assisting SMEs with food safety regulation compliance and access to EU markets;
- Improved BSO networks and relationships;
- Implementation of appropriate and relevant regulations by the GoG are facilitated.