Project Title: FAO–EBRD Project in Montenegro: Promoting Sustainable Value Chains in Food Production through Linkages with Tourism

Donor: FAO–EBRD

Project Value: EUR 98,000.00

Donor Contribution: EUR 98,000.00

Implementation Period: 2018 – 2020

General Information: The FAO–EBRD project in Montenegro “Promoting Sustainable Value Chains in Food Production through Linkages with Tourism” was designed to increase market connectivity of producers with the tourism and HORECA sector, building on experiences from other EBRD–FAO projects related to promoting sustainable value chains. The project is implemented in cooperation with the Ministry of Sustainable Development and Tourism and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

With the adoption of the Rural Tourism Development Program of Montenegro and its action plan until 2021, the Ministry of Tourism and the Ministry of Agriculture aim to create conditions for the development of rural tourism in Montenegro, a relatively new segment of the overall tourism offer that has strong links with small agricultural producers. New support measures in the 2019 Agrobudget directly connect traditional food production with tourism and rural development, demonstrating commitment to supporting small producers.

Gastronomy and traditional food products play an important role in promoting national identity and culture, and have become a key aspect of tourism quality. Given the preserved local gastronomic culture and traditional food production that uses local resources in sustainable and practical ways, Montenegrin small producers can benefit from the rapidly growing potential by linking agriculture and tourism in two ways: household-based rural activities and high-quality food typical of Montenegro offered in hotels and restaurants. In this regard, agricultural producers willing to engage in tourism and gastronomy activities have already established the association “United Rural Households – Tourism in the Countryside” to facilitate this development.

Objectives: Within a series of workshops aimed at creating a guide for linking agriculture and tourism, the main objective of the third workshop will be to identify key obstacles to connecting local gastronomy with rural tourism.

Specific Objectives of the Workshop:

• Create a clear picture of obstacles and existing solutions, focusing on areas requiring further work in implementing the Rural Tourism Development Program until 2021.
• Transfer knowledge to Montenegrin official institutions using positive experiences from EU countries with similar contexts, as well as experiences from the Slow Food International movement.
• Identify activities to be included in the guide for successful linkage of agriculture and tourism, and determine how recognized activities can be supported and promoted by representatives of different sectors.