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| 07 feb 2017 |
11:13 |
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EU Steps Up Sorghum Promotion in Europe
The debates of the 1st European Sorghum Congress, held in Bucharest last November, helped spark a new dynamics around the crop – as also proved by the consensus reached at the end of the event, calling for the development of a European sorghum industry.
The call was soon followed by the European Commission’s clearance for a EUR 1,17-million grant, of which EUR 870 000 are spread over a three-year period, having been earmarked for the promotion of the crop across Europe, beginning spring 2017.
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This should spur the development of a coherent strategy for sorghum, confirming the interest in the crop.
After having applied, in the spring of 2016, for EU funding aimed at promoting grain, feed, and seed, sorghum, the F.N.P.S.M.S. was notified by the European Commission, last December, as to the upcoming granting of the funds, thus validating the concentration of the promotion programmes on two distinct geographical regions, namely:
- five EU countries (France, Spain, Italy, Bulgaria, and Romania);
- two Eastern European countries (Russia and Ukraine).
Now that the funding agreements have been signed by FranceAgriMer (representing the French Ministry of Agriculture and the European Commission in the matter) and the F.N.P.S.M.S., the envisaged three-year activities are to start in the spring of 2017, via two action plans aimed at improving knowledge about the crop and increasing public awareness about its benefits, in order to contribute to its development in Europe. The action plans will include various activities, such as field trials, technical manuals, trainings, dedicated websites, TV ads, press tours, promotion materials, etc.
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