For the purpose of task 4.4 of the MOVING project, the Cretan team organised a workshop focusing on the carob flour value chain. The hybrid event took place on 21 May 2022 at the Department of Economics of the University of Crete.
Eight people involved in the value chain participated in the workshop, with a good gender representation. Participants included the president of the Bakers’ Association, a consumer of carob flour, an agronomist and researcher, a carob flour mill owner, a farmer, a general manager of a Cretan flour and other food products company, a representative of the Association of European Regions of Origin Products and a food technologist.
The aim of the workshop was to present, discuss and corroborate the findings regarding the value chain of carob flour and its potential to support the maintenance of the population in semi-mountainous villages of Central Rethymno region. The current situation of the war-related flour business in Ukraine featured prominently in the discussion. Participants offered useful insights regarding the competitiveness of the value chain (considering carob flour and animal fodder), the prospects of the Cretan variant of carob and the findings of our research team.
New bonds were created and participants tried, during breaks or after the event, to share their knowledge and issues.
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