COCOREADO is a project under Horizon 2020 that aims to bring balance to the food chain, giving more relevance to farmers. The project applies a three-fold approach to maximize impact, relying on ambassadorship, good practices, and a focus on youth, recognizing both regional differences and barriers in terms of replicability of good practices as well as regional opportunities in terms of solutions.
CONSULAI, as the only Portuguese partner, intends to highlight the Portuguese reality in the European context. Indeed, in Portugal, the agricultural sector is characterised as ageing, where farmers have little bargaining power and there is a weak adherence to sustainable development of short supply chains. That is why a new 2-year national project – “Qualifying the Short Agri-Food Chains” – has been developed with the aim of valorising local traditional productions with obvious benefits in social, cultural, economic and environmental terms. The framework developed intends to identify successful cases of “Best Practices” of Short Agri-Food Chains, that will serve as a boost to stimulate rural areas and the local economy.
The goal is to enhance regional production, with a consequent increase in production and income for producers and mainly the recognition of a strategic sector for the local economy. From the point of view of the consumer, it is intended to raise awareness of the benefits of consumption of traditional products, not only in environmental terms but also in terms of product quality, by promoting proximity between production and consumption, with direct contact with producers and the possibility of obtaining information about the origin and production characteristics.
With this framework in consideration, the “Qualifying the Short Agri-Food Chains” project shares a common goal with COCOREADO. With the selection and fostering of good practices these projects can contribute to develop novel and fair food systems. Specifically, in the COCOREADO Work Package which CONSULAI is leading, we intend to retain 10-15 innovative initiatives and practices that will be evaluated for their replicability.
Through the implementation and execution of projects such as COCOREADO and “Qualifying the Short Agri-Food Chains” it’s possible to bridge the gap between different rural realities across Europe, rebalance farmers position and support novel and fair food systems.
Joana Faria Anjos – CONSULAI