The participatory workshop on the analysis of the Tête de Moine PDO cheese value chain and its interactions with socio-ecological systems (MOVING H2020 project) was held on Friday 20 May 2022, in Saignelégier, in the Swiss Jura.
Luca Piccin started by introducing the objectives of the MOVING H2020 project:
to build capacity and co-construct relevant policy frameworks across Europe for the development of value chains that contribute to the resilience and sustainability of mountain areas to climate change.
Preliminary results of the MOVING 2020 project for the Tête de Moine PDO value chain
Farmers, cheesemakers, managers, agricultural and forestry technicians and scientists met in the magnificent Franches Montagnes cheese dairy in the middle of the Swiss Jura to comment on the provisional results of the project.
The results include
1. The importance of the woodland pasture landscape both culturally (local heritage), environmentally (biodiversity and buffer effect for grass growth), and socio-economically (image and reputation).
2. The importance of collective action, thanks to the role of the PDO and the interprofession, which have enabled a whole ecosystem of actors to coordinate in order to enhance the specificity of the product, through the development of specifications, a guarantee of quality and a key mechanism for maintaining a significant part of the added value in the production area.
3. The importance of the Girolle, a culinary device created 40 years ago by the creative spirit of a Jura farmer, who gave this cheese both its letters of nobility and its playful character, additional and essential ingredients for the success of the approach.
Group workshop work
The participants then worked in group workshops, to define together present and future impacts in each stage of the value chain (from production to consumption), as well as resilience strategies:
- Resistance (short term),
- Adaptation (medium-term)
- Transformation (long term).
Once identified, these strategies were prioritised and commented on, in an exercise in collective intelligence. Very successful and appreciated!
And to conclude Swiss Jura food products tasting!
Last but not least, all the participants celebrated this collective effort in the cheese factory, around a tasting of Jura products!
Thanks to all the partners for this constructive moment of sharing.
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