TIRANA, July 28 /ATA/ – Implementation and promotion of the cross-border food4health programme under the Interreg IPA CBC Italy-Albania-Montenegro Programme, and funded by the European Union through the through the Instrument for Pre-Accession (IPA II), is expected to promote improvement of the value chain for the typical locally grown produce.
The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Milva Ekonomi, on a trip to Italy, visited the Mediterranean Agronomic Institute (CIHEAM), with whom the project is being implemented through cooperation with the Puglia region, Molise region, the Ministry of Agriculture and Montenegro’s Institute of Marine Biology.
“I had the opportunity to see up-close implementation of the activities being launched as part of the joint regional approach to economic development of the communities. Together with Italian and Montenegrin partners we exchanged experiences, which are designed to support farmers, SMEs and start-ups to access funds and international markets,” Ekonomi said.
The overall objective of FOOD4HEALTH is to enhance the competitiveness of MSMEs and favour the access to the market in the cross-border area through the improvement of production techniques, the transfer, sharing and adoption of European quality standards and the enhancement of typical and traditional products of the agri-food sector and fisheries.
Cooperation among partners will also increase the innovation community networking and will give more opportunities to SMEs and start-ups to access funds and international markets.
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