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Local Food Matters!
10. Slow Food Macedonia national congress April 14th, 2018
Enjoying success
- legalised food
production
“Since the workshop in Bitola we
“The North Macedonian Food and
want, are back in the shelves, at least
Veterinary Agency has taken the in the smaller shops, and people are
initiative to elaborate hygiene rules that proud of them: honey, cheese, fish,
are more flexible, and marketing rules meat, herbs etc.”
for small-scale farmers and processing
The workshop produced important
have grown out of the defensive companies which give fair income to European knowledge-sharing and
corner,” says Nikolce Nikolovski of farmers,” he adds. Nikolce attributes experience but also had more tangible
Slow Food Bitola, co-organiser of the much of this change to the initial 2014 outcomes including a draft food
‘Local Food Matters!’ workshop, as he ‘Local Food Matters!’ workshop. regulation, which the Food Agency
meets up with Hannes Lorenzen at
“Before that, everyone was looking
published in the North Macedonian
the European Parliament in Brussels into scale, big business and export press some years later. “We would not
five years after the workshop we orientation. Now also the Ministry is have dreamed of it back then,” Nikolce
organised in Trnovo, Bitola. “Now we more interested in the high value of says. “The conclusions of the workshop
have established Slow Food North local and diversified local food, which had been shared with all relevant local
Macedonia, we have a much more is an important asset for rural tourism, authorities. Some members of the
professional approach to our work, and the creation of local jobs in rural Ministry and respective agencies were
especially for advocacy and lobbying areas, which North Macedonia and also present at the workshop and saw
for small-scale producers in the front of the entire West Balkan region need first-hand how other countries, like
institutions for changing and bringing so much. Our typical products which Austria, had allowed for a more flexible
new regulations to improve and were about to disappear due to a interpretation of hygiene rules. They saw
legalise their production.” misunderstanding of what consumers for themselves how it could be done.”
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