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Bringing mountain producers to Terra Madre

22.09.2022

In the framework of a collaboration with UNDP’s Global Environment Facility (GEF) Small Grants Programme (SGP), the Mountain Partnership Secretariat will be supporting a series of workshops at Terra Madre, Turin, Italy.

Eleven delegates of eight producer organizations, coming from six countries (Guatemala, Lesotho, Malawi, Nepal, Rwanda and Uganda) will participate in activities the first time in the Mountain Partnership Products (MPP) Initiative, a certification and labelling scheme for mountain production systems, which promote short, domestic value chains, fair compensation for the primary producers, conservation of agrobiodiversity and preservation of ancient techniques.

So far, ten new producer organizations submitted applications to join the MPP initiative for ten mountain products and others are in the process of submitting, for a total of 12 products.

The workshops are organized in collaboration with IFOAM Organics International on Participatory Guarantee System (PSG), which is specifically designed for mountain agriculture and allows small-scale farmers to certify their organic farming systems through an interactive, community-based approach, rather than by paying for expensive third-party certification.

During the festival, in partnership with EcorNaturaSì, the MP Secretariat will also present marketing strategies and host consultations with mountain producers, exploring ways in which to boost their profiles, expand networks and share unique stories about the origins of their products, cultivation, processing and presentation methods and role in local cultures.

The aims of the workshops are for producers to gain greater knowledge on Slow Food approaches and methodologies, on the MPP initiative and the PGS, and being able to implement the participatory certification scheme in their country. With their involvement in the MPP Initiative they will receive further support on narrative labelling, their marketing strategies and commercial development.

The Terra Madre festival will take place from 22 – 26 September in Parco Dora in Turin, Italy convening delegates from across the world. Events, interactive workshops and storytelling sessions dedicated to uniting our food, our planet and our future will take place across these five days.

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Photo: ©FAO/Giulio Napolitano