Project Goal
This project aims to change the traditional way of LAGs functionality in V4 countries as well as to create appropriate approach for LAGs appearance in Moldova and Macedonia, under ENPARD and IPARD.
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Target Group
Specific Target Groups:
- Local Action Groups (LAG) from V4
- Local public authorities, NGOs and SMEs from Macedonia and Moldova, Extension services and local development consultants/organizations
- Local development facilitators and policy-making experts
Partners
- GAK Education, Research and Innovation Public Benefit Nonprofit Ltd Co., Hungary- GAK Education, Research and Innovation Public Benefit Nonproofit Ltd Co. (Hungary)
- Foundation Agro-Centre for Education – FACE (Macedonia)
- University of South Bohemia in Českých Budějovice (Czech Republic)
- Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra (Slovakia)
- University of Agriculture in Krakow (Poland)
Short Description
The European Union remains committed to the development and modernization of agriculture and rural areas from EaP and WB. With the Rural Development component of the Instrument for pre-accession, Macedonia is assisted through a particular instrument called IPARD. On other hands, a similar instrument, ENPARD, is aiming to support rural development and agriculture in Moldova. However, many common challenges remain unsolved, such as proven mechanisms that tackle rural development in an integrated and participatory manner. LAGs, which are constituted at EU level to address some of the mentioned challenges (some of them exist in Macedonia and there aren’t any LAGs in Moldova), face the problems of LAGs in the aspect of the network component of social capital, trust and financial sustainability.
This project seeks to abolish the petrifaction of the key group organs, namely the board and the council of existing LAGs in V4. The suggested solution under this project is to promote proven tools that assist LAGs with transnational cooperation. Moreover, the project will contribute to capacity building of local actors from EaP-WB on LAGs development by sharing experience from V4 countries and building a cooperation platform between them. Also, it will promote digitalization and social networking for more efficient bottom-up participation of community in local and regional development.
LAGs activity in Europe is limited to implementation of the traditional bottom-up approach of LEADER, as a compulsory component for financial support. The relevance of the project is to change the traditional approach by promotion of trans-national cooperation between LAGs across Europe and making sense of the network component of social capital in the region. From Western and Eastern perspective, the project is important because the lack of real experience in Implementation of the “cooperation measure” under ENPARD and IPARD programs. In case of V4 countries this project is important because of limited capacity in the innovative/experimental character of LEADER as well as limited practices of LAGs in trans-national cooperation.