Dalarna – a better place for food businesses
Last summer, a food-production strategy was launched in Dalarna, its aim being to increase food production within the county and thus make Dalarna more self-reliant. The project FRODA will establish a business cluster with ties to the food supply chain to increase the profitability and competitiveness of businesses. Financing the project are the County Administrative Board of Dalarna and the Swedish Board of Agriculture. Running the project is Dalarna Science Park.
FRODA stands for Food Region of Dalarna Assembly, and its new project leader is David Levrén. David has been working from Dalarna Science Park for a number of weeks now on this two-year project. An agronomist, he has experience working with similar subjects at LRF, the Federation of Swedish Farmers. Now he is set to get started with FRODA:
– Our intention is both to investigate the food supply chain in Dalarna and to find new business opportunities with food businesses. We plan to offer activities relating to business development, and in different ways we will work to increase collaboration in the county based on the needs of businesses, he states.
David will also contribute to business development processes within the Inkubator, and just one of the collaborative partners he will be working with is Krinova Science Park in Kristianstad. Target groups are businesses within primary production and food processing, as well as those who support such businesses.
What’s the situation in Dalarna?
Dalarna has a large number of small and medium-sized businesses as well as a number of large food producers.
– In FRODA, we will mainly look at ways to increase collaboration throughout the food production chain, from the production of raw materials to processing and sales. We believe that key to finding new opportunities is for businesses to step outside of their familiar boxes and develop ideas with individuals with different backgrounds and professional competence.
More inspiration for businesses and others.
A next step in the project is to invite businesses and those that support businesses to take part in a day of inspiration on September 19 at Dalarna Science Park, along with LRF Dalarna. The day will focus on the questions of how Dalarna can become a better place for food businesses and what can be learnt from others to develop the industry in Dalarna.
During the course of the day, Krinova Science Park will provide its best tips on how they work to support the innovation and development of three areas of business: food, environment and health. The trade association NIFA from the county of Dalarna, which works with digitalisation, mealtime tourism and business development, will be on hand to provide information. Agroväst will also be in attendance to talk about the way in which cooperation with agricultural and research organisations can contribute to more profitable and sustainable agriculture in western Sweden.
