Promoting food chain organisation and risk management in agriculture

The priority at a glance

When farmers’ position in the food supply chain is relatively weak, they can benefit from organising themselves better so as to improve revenue opportunities. One route to doing so lies in local markets and short-supply chains. Risk management tools are needed to help farmers cope better with the uncertainty created by problems of weather, animal disease and market volatility.

Areas of Intervention (Focus areas):

  1. Better integrating primary producers into the food chain through quality schemes, promotion in local markets and short-supply chains, producer groups and ‘inter-branch’ organisations.
  2. Supporting risk management on farms.

Access relevant resources, guidance documents and examples of RDP implementation by clicking on the below buttons.

Lessons learned 2007-2013

Links to relevant ENRD work providing a deeper understanding of how to food chain organisation and risk management with effective RDP programming and implementation.

  • Local Food and Short Supply Chain is an introductory page to the theme with relevant links to EU actions, study and project examples on facilitating short-supply chains and promoting local farm products.
  • Rural Review 12: Local food and short supply chains [PDF en fr es de it hr] illustrates how RDPs are contributing to the promotion of local food production and short supply chains
  • Library on Rural Entrepreneurship providing materials and project examples on Short Supply Chains
  • Coordination Committee Workshop on Financial Instruments was organised to help raise awareness amongst rural development stakeholders about the opportunities and considerations involved in creating and utilising financial instruments in rural development programmes during the next programming period (2014-2020).
  • EAFRD project brochure on Food [PDF en fr de it es pl] illustrates examples which demonstrate the range of positive benefits in Member States from food-related rural development activity under the CAP.
  • Rural Review 13: Rural development financial instruments: New opportunities to tackle the economic crisis (October 2012) [PDF en] presents opportunities, experience and challenges for the implementation of EU Rural Development Policy.
  • Rural Finance  section provides information on the work of the Rural Finance Task Force organised under the NRN Thematic Initiative on Rural Entrepreneurship.
  • Library on Rural Entrepreneurship providing materials and project examples on Local Financing Instruments