The workshop on the presentation of the “Agriculture & Quality" Programme of Puglia Region for the enhancement and sustainability of typical and traditional products was organized on 18 November 2019 in Tirana, in the framework of the cross-border awareness campaign on health promotion (Apulian Life style), a Puglia Region project aimed at promoting safe nutrition and well-being of the regional population “for a happy long life".

Taking advantage of the presence of all the relevant stakeholders in the agri-food and fisheries sector (MSMEs, universities, public entities, general public), the FOOD4HEALTH Project Partners organized the official launch of the project on the occasion of the opening of the Italian week of cuisine.

The project aims to improve the cross-border framework conditions for innovation and competitiveness of MSMEs in the agri-food and fisheries sector. This approach will be developed by streamlining the partnership specific skills, in particular by capitalising on the results achieved in the projects funded under previous programmes (Apulian Life style, Agricoltura e Qualità) and targeting the Albania Country Strategy Paper as well as the Strategy Paper for Montenegro. 

Therefore, the added value of cross-border cooperation activities will be mainly linked to the teamwork and the contribution of each partner to the shared definition of models and approaches. Cross-border cooperation can produce added value compared to a local/national approach, because it can bring together skills to respond to SMEs innovation and competitiveness needs and to boost opportunities for cross-border cooperation in sustainable agriculture and food processing focusing on agri-food and fishery products of the 5 target areas. 

A special section was dedicated to the presentation of the FOOD4HEALTH Community Lab, as an innovative model and a shared equipped location available to the community, implemented by the Montenegrin Institute for Marine Biology.