The Dutch organization CNVP – Connecting Natural Values and People today presented the project “Rural Development Managed by Rural Civil Society Organizations”, funded by the European Union under the IPA / 2017 program, at Tehnopolis.
In addition to presenting the project, within the open discussion among numerous participants, the main problems in the field of rural development were discussed as well as the proposals for their resolution.
Participants highlighted some of the key issues that need to be resolved: outflow of the population from the rural area, lack of standardized quality of products, lack of formal legal regulation for certain branches of agriculture, small number of registered rural households and their poor knowledge of issues related to this process, as well as the lack of general infrastructure.
The participants also discussed further steps in the promotion of rural development, and as some of the primary ones, they identified the following: communication, infrastructure, education, motivation, stronger incentive measures for young people, and greater involvement of local self-government.
In addition, they identified areas in which civil society organizations should improve their work: increasing awareness through fieldwork, lobbying and advocacy skills and specialization in specific areas.
The main activities of the project include: identifying and networking rural CSOs, building their capacities for rural development policies, as well as identifying potential for research and advocacy, and a sustainable dialogue between these organizations and local/national authorities.
The overall goal of the project is to increase the impact of rural civil society organizations (CSOs) and their involvement in the development of public policies and decision-making processes. This will be achieved through the improvement of the capacity of rural CSOs for advocacy, lobbying and networking, as well as through better knowledge of the policies and processes relevant to their field of activity, with the aim of greater influence on local and national decision-making processes.
The project is implemented by the Foundation CNVP – Connecting Natural Values and People in partnership with the Regional Development Agency Bjelasica, Komovi and Prokletije, the Association of livestock producers of Montenegro and the Network for Rural Development of Montenegro.
