On the sidelines of the Swiss Land Market 2017, the first “International Day of Contests for Traditional Products” took place on Saturday September 30th in Courtemelon. At the Swiss Local Produce Competition, organized by the Interjurasian Rural Foundation, and thanks to the support of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), supported by SECO, the day brought together delegations from the Ivory Coast, France, Italy, Morocco and Tunisia.
The various speakers were able to share their experiences, ranging from the need for continuous improvement of the Agricultural General Contest in Paris (which was first held in 1870), to setting up the first Tunisian Competition (which will take place at the end of November 2017) and the desire to develop this concept in the Ivory Coast. Despite these different levels of experience, the challenges faced by competition officials are similar.
Many commonalities have thus been defined. This is particularly the case for the usefulness of the “competition” tool, which aims to enable consumers to find their way to the offer of local products, to support the economic development of the agri-food sector, and foster interaction between these groups.