The entrepreneurs may have great knowledge about their product and the production phase but lack of knowledge on businesses development, how to handle growth, cooperation, logistics, market knowledge etc. The local food sector SMEs have a great potential of playing an important role in creating jobs and opportunities in rural areas. The local food represents a tool to develop new business opportunities and products, also promoting a higher degree of local pride and identity and providing secure jobs and economic growth.

Starting from the awareness of the Regional and local authorities role in improving regional and local policies and considering the range of SMEs in the local food sector and the challenges encountered by small producers, regional strategies are of utmost importance to increase their competitiveness and success, “LOCFOOD - Local Food as Engine for Local Business” aims at fulfilling the need of experience exchanging and best practice sharing among policy makers to further develop common policies and strategies. Thus, by an high level partnership consisting of 13 partners from 9 countries (NO, SE, UK, CH, IT, ES, EH,SI and BG) among regional authorities, bodies governed by public law and one University, LOCFOOD aims:

• to improve the existing policies and regional strategies for both SMEs and entrepreneurship in the local food sector, encouraging entrepreneurship and innovative actions concerning the use of local food
• to get an overview and understanding of the existing policies and strategies concerning SMEs and entrepreneurship in the local food sector, in the participating regions. Internal and external factors that characterize the local food sector in each region will be identified
• to share knowledge and exchange experience, and learn from the results from the mapping, including better understanding of the local food sector

Thanks to its high qualified technical and human resources, ASSAM has been appointed by Marche Region Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing Department to support and implement technical activities in the framework of the LOCFOOD project of which the Region is partner and Communication and Dissemination Component leader. The findings of the project and the sharing of good practice and knowledge will contribute to improve existing policies in a positive direction. By improving policies and strategies for food-related SMEs, LOCFOOD seeks to make the most of the potential in sparsely populated areas, making them attractive places to invest, work and live in. Increased local food production can help revitalize sparsely populated communities.

For any information please visit: http://www.locfood.no/