International Basketball Star, USAID Team Up to Help Village
Residents of Riđica decided almost two years ago to take their destiny into their own hands and improve their economic lot through advanced agricultural production.
Despite the local saying that, “it’s safest to rely on yourself and your own abilities,” residents decided to put their trust into the combined capabilities of their community. The risk paid off. In early 2005, locals decided to establish Riđica-agrar, an association that today numbers more than forty members and is actively engaged in making agricultural production more profitable through collective efforts in purchasing and utilizing agricultural equipment and auxiliary goods, getting professional and practical training for their members and pursuing more strategic placement of their products on the market.
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Former Chicago Bulls player Dragan Tarlać (hands in air) joined USAID in supporting Riđica residents boost agricultural productivity
Photo Credit: Peđa Milosavljević |
After reaching an agreement among their membership, the association looked to international donors for assistance. Their collaborative effort garnered attention not only from USAID, but from international basketball star—and hometown hero—Dragan Tarlać, as well.
People from Riđica will tell you that homegrown basketball star Tarlać is a remarkable person who didn’t forget his community, even at the peak of international fame. They remember when he returned home for a visit while playing with the Greek basketball team Olympiakos—and how he and several fellow players that he’d brought along, rolled up their sleeves to unload coal for the local school.
USAID had been providing assistance on similar projects in the region since 2001 and helped Riđica-agrar by purchasing and setting up 13 greenhouses to extend its growing seasons. Now, the spring season starts 10-40 days earlier and autumn lasts 20-60 days longer, enabling association members to get products to market when the prices are most favorable. Tarlać provided office equipment needed to run the association and donated agricultural machinery.
Thanks to this community-driven initiative, 13 new jobs have been created which provide respectable incomes for several families. After many years of stagnation and an outflow of residents, locals are confident that they are on the brink of a promising reversal of fortune.
Through its Community Revitalization through Democratic Action (CRDA) program, USAID has engaged in thousands of projects with farmers and other agricultural producers—helping ordinary people to achieve extraordinary things for their futures. An estimated $80 million in additional income has been generated through the program, including more than $30 million in increased agricultural sales.
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