Description
Brožiai, a village in Klaipėda district municipality in Lithuania, was selected for a Smart Village project under the Smart Rural 27 initiative to address the decline in the local population and the migration of its young people to urban areas. The project targeted the development of horticulture and the promotion of a sustainable local food economy through the promotion of short food supply chains, community entrepreneurship and healthy food.
Technology
The Brožiai village community adopted a short food supply chain model in which fresh vegetables bought from local farmers were processed, packed and/or frozen, while chicken, beef and carcasses purchased from local farmers and/or small meat processors were boiled into concentrated broths in a pressure cooker and supplied to educational institutions and local households. A web application was developed through which food services could be arranged, while an Information Technology (IT) inventory and mobile interactive platform were sourced as support tools for local farming businesses.
Target
The main beneficiaries of the smart village initiative have been local inhabitants and food consumers, who gained access to high-quality and fresh products, as well as medium- and small-scale farmers who got to deal directly with their customers. All members of the rural community came to benefit from the strategy and the benefits of the short food supply chain.
Impact
Some 17 new jobs were created in Brožiai Smart Village, making it a successful example of local community entrepreneurship based on the interest and support of local residents, and led to its success being recognized on a national scale. The Brožiai community subsequently developed plans to expand the programme through the establishment of an organic food supply chain to improve the distribution and sales of local organic products, as well as a food policy laboratory, thus transforming the project into a more advanced Smart Village strategy.
Partners
LEADER program, European Commission’s Horizon 2020
Four Betters
Better production
Better nutrition
