Task force on Food Security – Initiative of Assembly of European Regions
Maramureș County, as a member of AER (Assembly of European Regions) - a pan European organization that brings together regions from our continent, joined the Task force on Food Security during AER Spring Plenaries held in Orebro Sweden in March 2019, due to the interregional experience gained in the food chain's innovation and the lessons learned through the international partnership of the FoodChains 4 EU project.
The Task force on Food Security is an initiative of AER intending to speak jointly with one powerful regional voice in order to influence future EU legislation and financing programs in the area of food.
European Commission launched a food research area focused on key food and nutrition security priorities – the Food 2030, a policy document pointing out the main challenges that EU faces.
But the role of regions has so far not been visualized in the extensive work described above, although they are responsible for the final implementation of the directives and programs. Regions have an important role in fulfilling EU Food challenges since it affects regional development from many angles such as: production with decreasing profitability, environmental challenges with impoverished soil as well as food waste accounting for more than 30% of the production.
The expected result that the AER Task Force on Food Security will be a Position paper, grasping the whole area of food and bio-economy policies from producers to consumers as well as from security to innovation, presenting AER member position on future development in the area.
During the Task force meeting representative of Maramures presented FoodChains 4 Europe project as an example of good practice.
Exchange of experience on healthy and quality food, within two projects financed by INTERREG Program, in the North-West Region (Romania)
Another synergy of FoodChaisn 4 Europe project was developed with SME Organics – an INTERREG EUROPE project with a complementary theme: supporting and promoting sustainability, innovation and business competitiveness in the organic food sector.
During their last meeting held in Cluj Napoca, in March 2019, a representative of Maramures County Council that attended also a SME Organics study visit organized in 2018 in Lodzkie - Poland, discussed about FoodChains 4 Europe project and the current stage of implementation.
