The National Strategy for Sustainable Development (NSSD) states that the rural development and the provision of adequate living standard for the rural population must be enhanced, among other actions, by the promotion of traditional and sustainable production technologies, as well as maintenance of aesthetic and tourism development functions of landscapes in agricultural areas and the diversification of economic activities and sources of revenues in rural areas.
To this aim a detailed proposal for the sustainable development of the dairy industry in Montenegro, as a pilot project for the enhancement of the food industry and the introduction of sustainable agriculture practices in Montenegro, was approved by the Steering Committee held on February 9th, 2009. Providing the national market with well identified typical products developed according to the best practices concerning the sustainability will add value not only to the Montenegrin dairy sector itself but also to the tourism, supporting the development of the agro tourism and the promoting the image of Montenegro as a destination with high quality local products.
In this framework the development of a thematic tourist route in a pilota area of Montenegro represents the first step towards the implementation of international safety and quality standards, necessary to guarantee a good and sustainable appeal on the international market as well as the compliance with the EU requirements.
The aforementioned measures is supported by an innovative marketing strategy suitable to increase the value generated by milk processing and products distribution through a better visibility of the whole sector and the offer differentiation; this approach allow to couple the efforts in marketing with an efficient and profitable distribution system featuring an optimized chain and alternative paths.
The design and the implementation of a tourist gastronomic route suitable to promote high quality local dairy and agricultural products though their direct tasting was developed.
The regional tours combining roaming in natural areas, hospitality and cheese tasting was developed in cooperation with the Italian Ministry of the Environment, Land and Sea, the Government of the Municipality of Kolašin, the Ministry of Tourism and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management of Montenegro.
The Cheese Routes offer an alternative to the traditional distribution system and will contribute to add value to the processed milk.
The project was developed with the involvement of local farmers and foreign experts and result in an increased offer for hospitality connected with the promotion of local products.