Steve Quarrie presented the Strength2Food project and various aspects of activities in Serbia in the session Rural development and agro-economy at Agrosym 2017 in front of the team of EUTA and the Ministry of Education (MPNTR).
The presentation and later discussion focused on the connection between schools that prepare food in their kitchens, namely in 4 regions: Belgrade, Novi Sad, the wider area of Valjevo and Arilje; and suppliers who supply schools with food products produced in Serbia, but also imported from abroad.
Some of the data collected so far on the S2F project were presented, which show that, for example, for one school in Novi Sad, about 30% of food products were imported, including peppers from Turkey!
In parallel, the production/distribution of vegetables, including peppers, and their local availability and distance from selected schools are shown. These findings will form the basis for future research, in order to directly connect primary schools with agricultural producers, shorten the food supply chain from primary producers to the final consumer, increase the nutritional value and quality of nutrition, and direct almost 12 MEUR from public procurement for food on local agricultural and local economic development.
This presentation is available at https://www.researchgate.net/project/Strength2Food, and soon also on the Strength2Food website.
Steve Quarrie
Head of the BSN/EUTA Education and Training Team