What we face
The action plan, European Green Deal, with the main strategic aim - to
be climate neutral in 2050, has been published and became our core strategic
document for the transformation to the sustainable economy and so boosting the efficient use of resources by moving to a
clean, circular economy and restoring biodiversity and cut pollution.
And as the core action, The Farm to Fork Strategy has been developed addressing
comprehensively the challenges of sustainable food systems and recognises the
inextricable links between healthy people, healthy societies and a healthy
planet.
A shift to a sustainable food system can bring
environmental, health and social benefits for all, not only EU countries, offering
economic gains and supporting the recovery from the crisis even deeper due to
COVID-19 situation. Ensuring a sustainable livelihood for primary producers,
who still lag behind in terms of income, there is essential for the success of
the recovery and the transition.
How we act
As stated in the The Strategy of Adaptation of the
Slovak Republic to the Adverse Consequences of Climate Change agriculture and food-sector is highly exposed to the adverse effects of climate change because agricultural activities are directly dependent on climatic conditions.
Raising atmospheric CO2 concentrations, increase in average annual air
temperature, changes in annual the course and time of precipitation and the
frequency of extreme weather events have an impact on water resources, soil,
the occurrence of pests and diseases, affecting quantity, quality and stability of food
production and lead to changes in both plant and animal production, influencing the complementary stages of the food sector.
And
that is the reason why was proposed new approach - Climate-friendly agriculture and food sector – which is an integrative approach to
interconnected solutions and challenges in the field of food production, processing, logistics, food security and climate
change, with a view to sustainable development increasing productivity,
resilient systems of agricultural and food security through measures to adapt
to climate change and remove greenhouse gases (mitigation) following the
main European strategy - Common Agricultural Policy.
The concrete actions and their supporting tools
were defined in the Rural Development Programme
2014-2020 in which
can be found 3 strategic goals:
- Strengthening
the competitiveness of the agricultural sector,
- Sustainable
management of natural resources and adaptation to climate change,
- Balanced
territorial development of rural economies and communities, including job
creation and maintenance.
What we do
TUKE, as one of the main regional innovation leaders has been
strongly supporting transition towards sustainable agriculture as one of the
long-term strategic aim supporting the innovation potential as the region and
implementation of technological and social innovations also in the topic as intelligent and sustainable food sector. Thanks to the cooperation on the national and
international level funded by various grants schemes like e.g. Interreg of
Horizon2020, we have been developing during last year the quadruple-helix based Innovation Network with focus primarily on the area of cross-industry support of increase of local
agricultural production competitiveness and the increase of efficiency of
processes related to its marketing and consumption mainly within regional
food networks.
Thanks to the capacity building activities providing new skills
and knowledge for farmers and all other staff in the field so they could better
identify the needs and requirements of the customers which can be cover thanks
to the new products and services with the added value as the regional products
marked with the quality label.
Within this cooperation we jointly develop solutions to actual
challenges based on the innovative approach implementing new business models
and new technologies for logistics. As one of the example of the joint effort can be provided innovative Urban Food System – digital market
of agricultural products which has been developed as the activity of the project URBAN INNO
implemented within Interreg Central Europe Programme. The efforts lead to the
development of a digital marketplace of agricultural products to match the
local production of the rural areas with the demand mainly from urban areas.
This virtual marketplace will enable citizens, restaurants, canteens and other
customers in the city of Košice to buy products directly from local farmers of
various sizes – from single individuals and families to large producers
creating new value chains which helps to increase the percentage of
agricultural production processed in the region with higher added-value,
trigger the improvement of storing,
logistical and selling infrastructure for local products and improve attractiveness of local products through improved visual design.
In
cooperation with other active stakeholders are jointly implementing also the
activities for overall better business environment regarding agriculture while
one of the core aspect is legal framework which has been analysed in
cooperation with the NGO ASPINNO in the project “From the Farm to Regional Rural Development” implementing various
co-creation methods, as e.g. World Cafe, has been identified the most
problematic processes which was followed by co-design of the possibilities for
improvement.
And joint
cooperation is often implemented on the cross-border level as the City of
Košice, is located very close to the border of Slovakia with Hungary and we share very similar challenges.
This was also the idea of the project Cross-border employment action plan for the
Cserehát micro-region including 7 small project of Slovak and Hungarian
partners aiming especially the development of the agricultural potential of
cross-border region thanks to the higher
quality, competitiveness and popularity of local products. Especially
education activities with focus to the disadvantage people are being
implemented and thanks to the project support new products have been produced,
jointly promoted and offered on the marketplaces which have been built as one
of the core channels for selling the local agricultural production.
Opportunities
Would you
like to support transition to the Green Economy?
Let´s find an opportunity for cooperation within open calls under Horizon Europe, Interreg Europe, Interreg Central Europe, or Interreg Danube for the topic of Farm to Fork.
Would you
like to cooperate with us in the joint project development?
Do not
hesitate and click on the button below to meet with us!