Local food – but of course! : The Local Food Programme and local food sector development objectives for 2025

Abstract

The Local Food Programme is based on the Government Programme of 2011, which identified the food industry as a future growth sector in our country and proposed that programmes be prepared for local and organic food. These programmes were adopted as government resolutions on 16 May 2013. External evaluations of the Local Food Programme were carried out in 2015 and 2018. The updated programme addresses the proposals issued following the most recent evaluation, in particular.

Objectives of the Programme are: to diversify local food production and to increase it to meet the demand, to enable the development of new sales and distribution channels, and to increase the degree of processing of local foods, to improve opportunities for small-scale food processing and sales through legislation, advice and research, to increase the share of local foods in public procurement by improving procurement competence, qualitative criteria and procurement requirements, to intensify cooperation between actors in the local food sector and to increase the appreciation and visibility of food and food chain actors.

In order for the programme objectives to be attained, measures and collaboration of the entire local food sector will be called for.