May 27, 2019 - The Cultural Heritage Association Napredak Gornja Lastva and its partners, on Wednesday, 28 May at 10.30 am at the Cultural Center Niko Bilafer in Stoliv, organizes a round table on the topic "Legislative Framework for the Development of Olive Growing at the National and Local Levels."
At the round table within the Project "Platform for the Renewal and Development of Olive Growing as a Fund for Rural Development in Vrmac," whose implementation officially began on 10 April this year, the representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Tivat and Kotor Municipalities and Boka Olive Society will be present.
The project is funded by the European Union through the EU Delegation in Montenegro as part of the Grant Facility under the Rural Development Program led by rural civil society organizations. The project leader is Connecting Natural Values & People Foundation (CNVP) in partnership with the Regional Development Agency for Bjelasica, Komovi and Prokletije from Berane, the Union of Montenegrin farmers from Pljevlja and in cooperation with the Rural Development Network of Montenegro.
Napredak is supported by a program carried out together with the Boka Olive Society and the Camelia Association from Stoliv. Marija Nikolić from Cultural Heritage Association Napredak Gornja Lastva spoke about the project:
"The project aims to establish a platform for the restoration of olive groves in Vrmac, regardless of its territorial division. We know that olive growing on Vrmac and the production of olive oil were very developed. We intend to establish a platform for all those who can contribute to the restoration of olive growing in Vrmac, with the hope that this could also stimulate the rehabilitation of abandoned villages," says Marija Nikolić, an architect engaged in the reconstruction and revitalization of the village in the Cultural Heritage Association Napredak Gornja Lastva for 30 years.
The Municipality of Tivat is a project associate because public institutions cannot be partners but, as Nikolic says, renewal of olive growing cannot be carried out without close cooperation of the local government.
"At the first round table, we will present the legislative framework for olive growing at the national and local level. We will also offer the directives and the future legal framework when Montenegro is an EU member," said Nikolić.
Two workshops have been planned for the project, one dealing with practical issues of restoration of existing olive trees and the other by producing quality olive oil following modern standards.
The final product of the project should be the strategy of restoration of olive growing, a document to be worked out by experts in this area in close cooperation with olive owners and associations dealing with it.
The overall value of the project, which aims to contribute to the establishment of a platform for the restoration of olive growing as the basis for rural development through the linkage and strengthening of capacities of civil society organizations and other actors in the pilot area of Vrmac is 16 083,06 €. The project lasts six months, until October 2019.
