Competitive and resilient mountain areas

Following their first meeting in November 2023, the EU CAP Network Focus Group 'Competitive and resilient mountain areas' met last week in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. The Focus Group experts from across Europe met to discuss the innovative approaches and innovations linked to agriculture, forestry and bioeconomy that can foster the competitiveness and the socio-economic and environmental resilience of mountain areas and their communities. Their tasks have been to collect and highlight innovative approaches and inspiring success stories on new ways of enhancing agri-food, forestry and other bioeconomy products. This includes coping with challenges posed by climate change and land abandonment, improving the coexistence between farming and large carnivores, and taking advantage of new opportunities, such as social farming or health-based agri-tourism. The group also identified challenges and opportunities to strengthen the competitiveness and resilience of mountain areas (for example, related to business models, markets and value chains, access to traditional and local knowledge and capacity building, new technologies and digital solutions). The members also explored the role of social innovation and ways to increase social resilience and reinforce social communities in mountain areas, for example, by attracting and engaging new citizens in the agricultural, forestry or bioeconomy sectors. The results of the Focus Group will be presented in a report that is currently being produced.

Are you interested in competitive and resilient mountain areas? See the related EU CAP Network ‘Innovation & knowledge exchange | EIP-AGRI’ activities

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