Rural Europe on the move English_chap7_13 | Page 15

Local Food Matters!
PE OP LE !
Boban Ilic is Secretary General of SWG, the Standing Working Group for Regional
Rural Development of South West Europe, based in Skopje. SWG co-organised the
Bitola workshop. After the war in the Balkans Boban Ilic initiated this multinational
working group on agricultural and rural development policy between the new
national governments in the region, with a spirit to re-establish peace through
cooperation. SWG strongly supports bottom-up rural development initiatives
and networks such as the Balkan Rural Development Network BRDN, and it
applies the LEADER principles to all its support projects. “We have made much
progress,” says Boban. “We are a region with great diversity; of people, cultures,
religions, biodiversity, tasty food, and beautiful landscapes. In principle we have all
we need. But our economy and our governance is still not working that way. We lose
our young and best educated people. The EU has promised long ago that we can
join but it is keeping its doors closed. If Brussels does not get its act together soon
Europe will see drastic consequences not only in this region.”
LOCAL FOOD MATTERS
T
IN A NUTSHELL
he renaissance of local food diversity inflexible as some member states administrations
and quality strongly depends upon local or populist politicians may suggest. The EU hygiene
stakeholders’ own initiatives, and upon engaged regulation gives member states the flexibility to
cooperation between farmers, local food adapt certain rules to specific local conditions.
movements and competent food safety authorities. Thus, newcomers to the EU may offer innovative
The workshop organised by Forum Synergies solutions to finding a good balance between
and its partners in 2014 in Bitola illustrates the increased demand of consumers for local, fresh
impressive impact that constructive dialogue can and high-quality products and improved rules to
achieve on national food hygiene rules and food avoid food hygiene risks. The Bitola workshop has
quality legislation, even in a EU neighbour country strengthened the spirit of the local food movement
like North Macedonia. and has built trust between local stakeholders
The loss of small farms and the closing of local
and food administration. It has contributed to a
food processing enterprises can be avoided if new self-confidence of stakeholders that they can
existing food safety legislation is adapted and shape their own economies and livelihoods through
intelligently interpreted, taking into account the cooperation. And it has hopefully inspired people
specific local processing and marketing conditions in the Western Balkans and the EU to work more
and shelf life of products. EU legislation is not as closely together for a better and enlarged Europe.
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