Project “Local production of bovine meat from Greek indigenous cattle breeds”, American Farm School
Author(s)	George Malliopoulos
Insert photo or any visual image or diagram e.g. /Word or Image Collage
Choose a primary theme that the Good Practice adheres to	Education and awareness raising practices
If relevant choose a secondary theme that the Good Practice adheres to	Mutual benefits between primary producers and consumers
EIP Practice Abstract Format: Short summary for practitioners in English on the (final or expected) outcomes (1000-1500 characters, word count – no spaces).This summary should be as interesting as possible for farmers/end-users, using a direct and easy understandable language and pointing out entrepreneurial elements which are particularly relevant for practitioners. Research oriented aspects which do not help the understanding of the practice itself should be avoided.	Short description of the ‘Good Practice’: The project “Local production of bovine meat from Greek indigenous cattle breeds”, designed and implemented by the American Farm School (AFS) in Thessaloniki, Greece financially supported by a number of privately and state funded programmes. This initiative aims to develop a sustainable short food supply chain for meat and meat products of two indigenous cattle breeds, namely, the Greek Red and the Greek Shorthorn. These two cattle breeds are native to mountainous areas of Rodopi in Central and Eastern Macedonia as well as Thrace regions. They are known for their resilience in challenging conditions, making them ideal for low-cost meat producing activities resulting in high-quality and tasty meat and meat products. The vision of the American Farm School is to highlight the regions as a travel destination of gastronomic importance to support its development, through a series of documentaries, storytelling and photography. At the same time, local farmers are supported to appropriate more value-added through the creation of gourmet and high-quality products for consumers and businesses.
	Main results/outcomes of the activity (expected or final): The initial motivation of local farmers to breed these two breeds was the need to preserve them as a genetic resource. However, despite its high-quality, the meat of the red and shorthorn cattle breeds is not widely known in the local or wider market. Therefore, local farmers cannot produce meat sustainably without public support. The AFS identified this need and connected local farmers with a local meat processing facility of high-quality standards. Α business model has been created, with the goal to launch two new products to the local market: sausage from Greek shorthorn cattle meat and pastrami from Greek red cattle meat. These new products have passed through marketing tests and tastings with great success before their launch to the market. The farmers involved are being integrated in an agri-food cluster, as the foundation of a short supply chain, complete with slaughterhouse, butcher/ retailer and selected restaurants. In the future, AFS plans to carry on with the documentaries of local producers and shed light to their stories, as the pandemic made this impossible in the recent past.
	The main practical recommendation(s): what would be the main added value/benefit or opportunities to the end-user if the generated knowledge were implemented? How can the practitioner make use of the results? The development of a short food supply chain and the rebranding is a promising pathway for the preservation of scarce traditional gastronomic resources as wel as to create benefits for local producers and the local society. External support and awareness raising techniques may create demand for traditional products outside their native region and highlight their gastronomic significance.
	Further information/Reference: http://smartfarminginitiative.gr/wpcontent/uploads/2021/05/ivana-keimeno.pdf (In Greek)
Short summary for practitioners in native language on the (final or expected) outcomes (1000-1500 characters, word count – no spaces). This summary should be as interesting as possible for farmers/end-users, using a direct and easy understandable language and pointing out entrepreneurial elements which are particularly relevant for practitioners. Research oriented aspects which do not help the understanding of the practice itself should be avoided.	Short description of the good practice
	Το πρόγραμμα «Τοπική παραγωγή μοσχαρίσιου κρέατος από αυτόχθονες Ελληνικές φυλές βοοειδών» σχεδιάστηκε και υλοποιήθηκε από την Αμερικάνικη Γεωργική Σχολή της Θεσσαλονίκης και υποστηρίχθηκε χρηματοδοτικά από ιδιωτικά και κρατικά προγράμματα. Η πρωτοβουλία αυτή στοχεύει στη δημιουργία μία βιώσιμης εφοδιαστικής αλυσίδας για το κρέας δύο αυτόχθονων φυλών βοοειδών, Ελληνικής Κόκκινης και Ελληνικής Βραχυκερατικής και των παράγωγών τους. Οι δύο φυλές είναι εντόπιες στις ορεινές περιοχές της Ροδόπης στην Κεντρική και Ανατολική Μακεδονία και Θράκη. Είναι γνωστές για την ανθεκτικότητά τους σε δύσκολες συνθήκες, που τις καθιστά ιδανικές για την παραγωγή κρέατος σε χαμηλό κόστος, ενώ το αποτέλεσμα είναι η παραγωγή νόστιμου και ποιοτικού κρέατος και παραγώγων, όπως αλλαντικά. Το όραμα της Αμερικάνικης Γεωργικής Σχολής είναι η ανάδειξη των περιοχών σε ταξιδιωτικό προορισμό γαστρονομικού ενδιαφέροντος και να ενισχύσει την ανάπτυξή τους, μέσω μίας σειράς φωτογραφήσεων, αφήγησης και ντοκιμαντέρ. Την ίδια στιγμή, οι τοπικού παραγωγοί υποστηρίζονται στη δημιουργία προστιθέμενης αξίας από την παραγωγή ποιοτικών προϊόντων υψηλής γαστρονομικής αξίας για τους καταναλωτές και τις επιχειρήσεις.
	Main results / outcomes of the activity (expected or final): Το αρχικό κίνητρο των τοπικών παραγωγών για την εκτροφή των δύο φυλών ήταν η ανάγκη για τη διατήρησή τους ως γενετικό πόρο. Ωστόσο, παρά την υψηλή ποιότητά του, το κρέας της κόκκινης και της βραχυκερατικής φυλής δεν είναι ευρέως γνωστό στην τοπική και την ευρύτερη αγορά. Επομένως, οι τοπικοί παραγωγοί δεν μπορούν να παράγουν με βιώσιμο τρόπο κρέας χωρίς υποστήριξη από το Κράτος. Η Αμερικάνικη Γεωργική Σχολή εντόπισε αυτή την ανάγκη και έφερε σε επαφή τους τοπικούς παραγωγούς με μία μονάδα επεξεργασίας κρέατος υψηλών προδιαγραφών στην περιοχή. Δημιουργήθηκε ένα επιχειρηματικό μοντέλο με σκοπό την κυκλοφορία δύο νέων προϊόντων στην τοπική αγορά: λουκάνικα από κρέας Ελληνικής Βραχυκερατικής και παστράμι από κρέας Ελληνικής Κόκκινης. Τα δύο αυτά νέα προϊόντα πέρασαν με υψηλά ποσοστά επιτυχίας από δοκιμές προώθησης και γευστικούς ελέγχους. Οι παραγωγοί που συμμετέχουν στο πρόγραμμα θα ενταχθούν σε ένα cluster που θα αποτελεί τη βάση της εφοδιαστικής αλυσίδας και θα ολοκληρώνεται από ένα σφαγείο, κρεοπώλες/λιανική εμπορία και επιλεγμένα εστιατόρια. Στο μέλλον, η Αμερικάνικη Γεωργική Σχολή θα συνεχίσει τη παραγωγή ντοκιμαντέρ με σκοπό να καταγράψει τις ιστορίες των τοπικών παραγωγών καθώς η πρόσφατη πανδημία δεν το επέτρεψε.
	The main practical recommendation(s): what would be the main added value/benefit or opportunities to the end-user if the generated knowledge were implemented? How can the practitioner make use of the results?
	Η δημιουργία βραχέων εφοδιαστικών αλυσίδων διατροφής καθώς και η αναμόρφωση της αγοραίας εικόνας μπορεί να υποστηρίξει τη διατήρηση ενός σπάνιου και παραδοσιακού γαστρονομικού πόρου. Η υποστήριξη από εξωτερικούς φορείς και η χρήση τεχνικών προώθησης μπορούν να ενισχύσουν την ζήτηση των καταναλωτών σε μη-τοπικές αγορές και να αναδείξουν τη γαστρονομική σημασία του πόρου, δημιουργώντας αξία για τους τοπικούς παραγωγούς.
Pearls, Puzzles, Proposals?	Pearls: The use of an integrated approach to support and modernize traditional meat production to support local farmers and stakeholders while using awareness raising practices to promote local meat products to a wider audience as well as the region as a pole of culinary attraction. Puzzles: What have local stakeholders gained so far from their involvement in the chain? Proposals: The approach of AFS could be expanded to other signature Greek food and agricultural products, as they are produced by smallholders who mostly do not know how to reach the market, find partnerships to produce novel products, or promote their products through the use of marketing techniques.
What needs did the ‘good practice’ respond to?	The project responds to the need of local farmers and producers for sustainability of their cattle breeding activities by shifting their reliance on the market for gourmet products instead of public funding. Moreover, consumers have the opportunity to taste new high-quality products and support the local development of remote Greek regions. Finally, local HoReCa businesses may also expand their offerings using the new products and create new recipes to attract more customers
Methodology Used:	Desk research; materials provided by the American Farm School;
Sector	Fresh meat; processed meat; meat products
Actors/Stakeholders involved	American Farm School, local farmers, local meat processing facility, consumers, HORECA businesses
Is the good practice supported by an IT application? If yes please describe and collect the TRL	The good practice is supported by an IT application, piloted by the “Smart Farming initiative” of the American Farm School through the use of DigitAnimal, an integrated platform that provides farmers an overview of the current status of farm animals in real-time. The data are collected through IoT collars worn by animals, collecting information about their location and their surrounding environment. The American Farm School also supports the application of digital traceability methods to promote the identity and quality of the Greek Red and Greek Shorthorn cattle breeds through the Kalathos platform that facilitates the exchange of information about meat and meat products among all stakeholders involved from production to consumption.
Optional: What supports were provided by public sector bodies/policy instruments?	The initiative has been supported partially through state funding.
Region, Country	Xanthi, Eastern Macedonia & Thrace Region, Greece / Thessaloniki, Central Macedonia Region, Greece (American Farm School)
Media attachment (e.g. video link) or other attachment describing/depicting the Good Pratice	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rWTNLbde6k (In Greek – Presentation of the initiative) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jD0fIIxttmU (In Greek – Interview of AFS with the owner of the local meat processing facility) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ln3yQcn40iw (In Greek – Interview of AFS with the local farmer of Greek red cattle)
Key words	Greek shorthorn cattle; Greek Red cattle; Meat; Meat products; Bovine meat; Alternative tourism; Rural development;

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 101000788