What are LAGs working on? Episode 3
Two Local Action Groups from Portugal and Greece are using LEADER’s ‘superpower’ to turn fear into opportunity, and waste into value.
Across rural Europe, Local Action Groups (LAGs) demonstrate that proximity and flexibility are not just advantages; they are what make effective local action possible. This episode of the ‘What are LAGs working on?’ series follows two examples from Portugal and Greece, illustrating how a more tailored and holistic approach can unlock opportunities that are present but untapped.
In Portugal, a LAG discovered that the biggest obstacle to generational renewal was not finance but the concerns parents had about their children’s future. In the Peloponnese region of Greece, a juice producer identified an opportunity in a valuable by-product that was previously being discarded. She developed the technical roadmap and found markets for the by-products, while support from the LAG helped provide the funding needed to bring the project to life. Two LAGs, two very different challenges, and one shared superpower: the ability to listen, support local initiative and help ideas grow.
Portugal: Litoral Rural turns fear into confidence
In Portugal, Local Action Group (LAG) Litoral Rural identified what it calls ‘generational fear’ as a root cause of rural flight. Seeing the sector as technologically and economically stagnant, parents, often because of a lack of information, were actively discouraging their children from following them into agriculture. Farming, in their eyes, offered little in the way of dignity or future.
To challenge this mindset, the LAG focused on turning those concerns into a vision of a viable future. Working face-to-face with families, it built trust and learned to hear what was really holding people back. As Xavier Longras, Local Development Agent at LAG Litoral Rural and a teacher at a vocational agricultural school, explains: "This allowed us to provide tailored technical advice to modernise farms, creating the necessary conditions for young people to work with dignity, technology and economic security."
A prime example is Farm Terovera, where the farmer's son, after finishing his studies, sought to move beyond traditional soil-based tomato production. With LEADER funding and the LAG's guidance, he improved his knowledge of production and farm management and successfully transitioned the family farm to a hydroponic system, transforming it into a high-tech agricultural business.
This is precisely where LEADER’s added value becomes clear. Top-down agriculture schemes can set priorities, but they cannot sit at a kitchen table and listen. Only local actors such as LAGs, anchored in the communities they serve, can identify the intangible barriers that no centralised grant can address, bridging the gap between policy and reality.
Our 'superpower' is the ability to walk onto the farm and listen. Unlike distant bureaucracies, we addressed the emotional and social barriers of farmers at their own kitchen tables. We did not just offer generic grants - we co-designed solutions that shifted the local narrative from 'survival farming' to 'professional entrepreneurship.
This approach marks a strategic evolution for Litoral Rural: moving beyond supporting individual investments towards strengthening human capital and the long-term social sustainability of the territory. Starting with ensuring that farm succession is seen not as an obligation, but as a credible and competitive career path.
Greece: LAG Parnonas backs innovative citrus waste recovery
In the orchards of the Peloponnese, citrus is everywhere. And yet, for decades, part of the fruit's value never made it past the production line.
Since 1967, Argolis Juices S.A. has been transforming locally grown citrus fruits into juices and blends for the food and beverage industry. Sourcing solely from Greek farmers, the company has long been a stable anchor in the regional economy. Yet until recently, its focus remained on the juice itself. One part of the process remained neglected: the citrus peel, a by-product of juice extraction, which was simply treated as waste.
From a circular economy perspective, this was more than a missed detail. It was untapped value: a resource that could contribute to both environmental sustainability and economic diversification. LAG Parnonas saw it that way, too. It was time to look at that ‘waste’ differently. With LEADER support for the necessary equipment, Argolis Juices was able to expand its production of citrus essential oils from peel and turn them into a marketable product used in flavourings, cosmetics and beyond.
The initiative was driven by Katarina Giannakou, CEO of Argolis Juices, an innovative entrepreneur who identified the potential of essential oils after researching technologies in the United States of America. The project also helped to strengthen the company’s processing capacity and its cooperation with local citrus producers, reinforcing its role in the regional economy and advancing a more circular approach to agricultural production.
The LAG’s true superpower was its close, personalised support, which only a local LEADER structure can provide - effectively matching the local business needs with targeted funding and high-quality technical assistance.
The intervention aligned closely with the LAG's Local Development Strategy, which prioritises innovation, the use of local resources and the strengthening of the region's agri-food identity. It also builds on earlier LEADER efforts to support the sustainable processing of agricultural products, showing how territorial change often happens step by step, by rethinking what is already there. The project reduced environmental impact, opened new market opportunities, strengthened export competitiveness and reinforced the local economy by consolidating partnerships with local citrus producers.
Like Litoral Rural, the flexibility and local anchoring of the LEADER approach made it possible to achieve results that would have been difficult through larger, more standardised funding mechanisms. What makes the difference in both cases is not the scale of the investment but the quality of the relationship.
Looking for more inspiration? Discover all LEADER projects in the EU CAP Network’s good practice database and learn more about what LAGs are doing in the LAG Directory – you can browse it by country or area of work.
