Support of Entrepreneurship in the Field of In-House Processing of Quality Farm Products in the Districts of Evros, Haskovo, Smolyan and Kardzhali

QUALFARM shall establish 4 Business Support Offices within the premises of the 4 PBs. These support structures shall be responsible for providing mentoring, training and continuous support in triggering innovative entrepreneurship and supporting existing one on the field of agricultural products' processing with particular emphasis on small-scale in-house processing of local quality products that are produced by small farms and by the most dynamic segments of rural population (women, young graduates, etc.). The end-users of the activities include farmers and members of farm households; SMEs operating in the agri-food industry.
The project idea and the partnership were developed on the basis of the experience of the participating (in QUALFARM) Local Action Groups (LAGs), which showed that entrepreneurship in rural areas is hindered by certain common challenges, namely: (a) Difficulties in obtaining finance; (b) Limited access of entrepreneurs to business know-how; (c)  Limited access to information and contacts; (d) Lack of support services; (e) Lack of access/know-how regarding cost saving technologies and (f) Inadequate skills. The project's overall and main objective is to trigger innovative entrepreneurship in the field of quality farm products' processing, with particular emphasis on "in-house" processing i.e. in farms or small workshops. This shall be achieved through the provision of training, mentoring and personal guidance on issues of innovation, marketing, food safety and branding by specialised business support structures that will be created within the premises of QUALFARM PBs.

Establishment of two (2) Local Business Support Offices: (1) in Provatonas Evros, Greece and in the center of the village of Benkovski, which is accessible for the entire adjacent area of the municipalities of Zlatograd, Kirkovo, Nedelino and Dzhebel. The officew were built with the aim of supporting and assisting business representatives - entrepreneurs, individual producers, farmers, craftsmen, as well as persons engaged in the sector of production and internal food processing in the area. Specialists - Business consultants, Business mentors, Experts - provide farmers and entrepreneurs with individual consultations in the field of business planning, marketing, innovation and company branding, provide information related to the necessary first steps in starting a small business, developing project proposals, project financing opportunities, ways of certification, as well as sharing good practices for company development and in- house processes. In addition, the Offices provide mentoring services to local businesses and a wide range of information to electronic services and e-government services aimed at facilitating company and entrepreneurial activity.