Caseificio Val d'Aveto – Investing to sustain the local supply chain

Short description:
A dairy company, in Val d'Aveto (Liguria), used RDP (Rural Development Programme) support to to add a new wing to the factory building, for the processing, packaging and storage of yoghurt. In this way, the investment reinforce the local supply chains and helps prevent the abandonment of the farming activity in the area thanks to the creation of new jobs.
Country: Italy
Region: Liguria
Keywords: #ruralSMEs, #jobcreation, #productquality
Applicable in rural, non-city areas?: Yes
Representative photo:
Affecting (Scale): Local Region
Timescale (start/end date): 2017-ongoing
Evidence of success:
The dairy has maintained an entirely local supply chain, thus contributing to a strong territorial identification of its products. Moreover, it employs 23 people from the Aveto Valley; 3 jobs were created by the investments made with the 2014 – 2020 RDP support. The dairy collects milk from 20 cattle farms. In 2017, it collected 15.000 q. of milk and it processed 25% more milk from local suppliers between 2016 and 2018.
Detailed information on the practice:
Collection of the milk from different cattle farms of Val d'Aveto territory and milk processing. Automation of the packer in order to increase the production and, in this way, create new jobs.
Website URL: http://www.caseificiovaldaveto.com/
Short description of territory, where best practices are implemented:
The Aveto Valley is an Apennine area located between the Provinces of Genoa and Piacenza. As in all the Ligurian mountain areas, the most widespread economic activity is cattle breeding, both for meat and milk production. The activity is carried out mostly by small farms, whose function of landscape maintenance is takes precedence over their productive potential, which can lead to low incomes.
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Additional representative photo #2:
Resources needed:
It is needed a huge investment amount
Key conditions for success:
The existence of a local supply chain
Key steps for activity implementation:
-Investigate the existence of a local supply chain that can support the activity
-Create a local network of farmers
-Invest in new technologies
Difficulties encountered/ lessons learned:
It is necessary to invest in rural SMEs in order to avoid the abandonment of agricultural activities
E-mail address: alberto.sturla@crea.gov.it