Agriculture directors discuss innovation
The Directors of Rural Development are set to attend a conference in Lithuania, as part of the country’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union.
The Directors will attend an informal meeting between 25-26 July as well as a conference on rural development in the Baltic country; the conference is entitled ‘The implementation of the Rural Development Programme for Lithuania 2007-2013 and the new financial perspective 2014–2020: innovation and co-operation opportunities’. Participants will have an opportunity to share their views on the best practices of Lithuanian farms, which receive EU financial support for rural development, as well as the use of European funding between 2007–2013.
Discussions will focus on the promotion of innovation through the European Innovative Partnership (EIP), which will encourage research co-operation and the modernisation of the sector, particularly under Horizon 2020. The directors will debate the challenges and the main instruments supporting innovation in the agricultural sector and rural development in addition to best practices, while implementing the ‘Rural Development Programme for Lithuania 2007-2013’.
The participants will also discuss a number of aspects of rural development policy for the new financial period 2014-2020. The main areas of discussion will be centred on the key challenges and instruments facilitating innovation in agriculture and rural development and examine the ways that co-operation can contribute to the development of competitive and sustainable agriculture.
The meeting will present a review of the implementation of co-operation instruments in different EU member states and the spread of the best practices, and will also discuss practical issues related to implementation.
