Linking Europe’s rural regions: The relevance of cross-border cooperation for rural development and agro-food value chains

The Agropol consortium of IDEA Consult, Metis GmbH and the University of Ghent will organise three dissemination events concerning the role of cross-border cooperation in strengthening rural economies throughout Europe:

• Klagenfurt (Austria), 19 October 2018, Linking Europe’s rural regions: Raising the competitiveness of agricultural value chains in rural regions through cross-border cooperation
• Brussels (Belgium), 24 October 2018, Linking Europe’s rural regions: The relevance of cross-border cooperation for rural development and agro-food value chains (event coordinated with the ENRD)
• Foros de Vale Figueira (Portugal), 7 November 2018, Linking Europe’s rural regions: Rural economies built on natural ecosystems in Spain and Portugal

The event in Brussels will present the lessons learned from the Agropol project and will include a keynote speech on cross-border cooperation in the agribusiness sector. Case studies of cross-border cooperation in other sectors will be presented and a representative of the European Network for Rural Development (ENRD) will give a presentation on the relevance of cooperation for rural development in the agro-food sector. The event will be rounded off with an expert panel on the success factors for cooperation between cross-border rural regions including representatives of the European Commission and other cross-border cooperation experts.

For more information visit the website of the event.

The Agropol project was set up by the European Commission (DG AGRI) in 2016 with the aim to generate practical know-how on how to strengthen the agriculture and food sector through cross-border cooperation. Two pilot-regions were selected to analyse and facilitate the development of a joint agro-food strategy: Carinthia (AT) – Slovenia and EUROACE (Alentejo, Centro in Portugal and Extremadura in Spain). The consortium also assisted the local stakeholders from the different participating regions in developing concrete cooperation projects within their strategy, e.g. in the dairy sector between Carinthia and Slovenia and in the medicinal and aromatic plants sector in the EUROACE region. 

The results and lessons learned from the Agropol pilot activities will be shared during the three dissemination events with the objective of transferring them to other European regions interested in cross-border cooperation in the agro-food value chains. Field visits and the presentation of the jointly developed products are also foreseen. 

The events are directed at all stakeholders interested in cross-border or interregional cooperation in the areas of agriculture, food and forestry.