11th Agricultural Policy Forum for SEE

 

The 11th Agricultural policy Forum was held in Split from 12 to 15 October 2011 under the joint auspices of the Croatian Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Development and the Regional Rural Development Standing Working Group (SWG).

More than 70 representatives from the Ministries of Agriculture of the SEE countries, European Commission, FAO, GIZ, CEI, JRC, IPTS, RCC as well as delegations of the EU in Croatia participated at this year's Forum, whose main objective was to address policy challenges in agriculture and rural development in South-Eastern Europe taking into consideration global, European and regional dimensions.

As the final outcome of the Forum, the participants from nine (9) countries from SEE approved a unique document: “Split Agenda 2011 for Agriculture and Rural Development in South-Eastern Europe” in which basic direction for the future focused activities of the SWG in cooperation with EC and other relevant international institutions working in the region is given. The activities include: The future of the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance for Rural Development (IPARD); Enhancemetnt of the competitiveness of SMEs in rural areas; Area Based Development (ABD) Approach and the Development of Cross border Areas: Opportunities and Challenges in South-Eastern Europe

The participants concluded that the Agricultural Policy Forum is a successful example of a policy dialogue since its beginning and, the 11th issue of this event once again confirmed the need for continuation and strengthening of the cooperation within the regional initiative – the Regional Rural Development Standing Working Group (SWG) directed by a strategic overview and appreciation of the opportunities offered by the European integration. The SWG is recognized as a main institution in the promotion of the future development of sustainable agriculture and rural development in SEE offering strong support to the governments from the region in their efforts to continue with the reforms and to ensure permanent support to the development and implementation of specific policy measures for the rural areas promoting regional cooperation.