LEADER has a long track record in successfully supporting new collaborative initiatives through agri-food projects aimed at strengthening the resilience of rural Europe’s economy.

Collective action is a core concept of LEADER and LAGs have a strong track record in successfully supporting new community-led collaborative agri-food initiatives aimed at strengthening the resilience of rural Europe’s economy.

Agri-food cooperation has been a focus for LEADER since the methodology’s early days in the 1990s. In that context, there is a large library of LAG-funded agri-food good practices in this field, covering all EU Member States. This experience offers useful insights to help stakeholders achieve success in terms of contributions to all ten Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) Specific Objectives. This is because LEADER can act as a laboratory to test collective agri-food approaches that can also be further mainstreamed through other CAP support to transform agri-food systems in a sustainable manner.

LEADER’s strategic value has been established through community-led agri-food projects involving a range of value chain partners, from farmers through to food processors, restaurants and retailers. Results from these LEADER-funded initiatives help to create and safeguard rural jobs by introducing new products and services that help local firms and families in rural Europe adapt to changing conditions like climate and other crises. For instance, food supply resilience and sustainability have been improved thanks to LEADER through short-supply chains and direct sales initiatives that can provide new income possibilities, reduce food miles and increase consumer choice.