Good practice:

Upstream/Downstream

The objective of the Region Nouvelle-Aquitaine is to support the development of projects aiming at increasing the production and processing of organic products and at enhancing the balance between upstream and downstream sectors by extending market opportunities and fostering contractualization. Through a call for proposals, beneficiaries should meet the following requirements : they should be economic operators, working on long food chains and present a project with a partnership or contract between one operator upstream and one downstream. They can also plan to work with other SMEs of the sector and/or choose technical services providers. They have to provide a detailed description of expected amount and prices and identified the market they aim at. Projects can last between one and three years.
The programme finances the project implementation costs (staff, expertise) and investments (40% of the eligible expenses, and a limit of 30 000 euros).
The Agriculture department of the Regional Council of Nouvelle-Aquitaine examines the projects that are presented to a board of examiners (Region, DRAAF(national) and 2 associations representing the regional organic OFF stakeholders).

The funds finances 40% of the resources needed, to a maximum of 30 000e/project. If the same project already applied for “Avenir bio”, the Region would only gives 20%. Maximum annual funding around 380 000e/all projects. Presented to a board of examiners.

Since this support measure’s creation, 44 economic operators have been helped. More than 1000 farmers were affected by this measure (almost 40% of the regional organic producers). They received technical advice and worked together to answer to a specific market. However, almost all the regional cooperatives beneficiated frome the programme when they started their organic activity.
As the fundings were important, SMEs could hire staff and their wages were supported by the measure.

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This practise helps to build strong value chains at a regional level. It creates jobs and SMEs can ask for help for their new development and structuration. Also, it concerns both producers and processors, and allows the various OFF organisation to know about the needs of the sector on the territory.