Rural area is often seen as an opposite to the city, urban space. In a rural country changes are constantly taking place and these are caused by groups of factors that make up the rural country - natural, cultural and anthropogenic components. The great importance of rural areas is that the rural landscape forms part of our heritage and is an important witness to the past, and current relationships between man and the natural environment are building the rural environment. Not only in Slovakia, or in Visegrad countries, but across Europe we can observe that rural areas are facing a decline in the importance of agriculture and outflow of population, and it is therefore necessary to address the revival of the countryside through its diversification. Rural areas, in general, have a big tourist potential, but very often lacking in strategy and complementary planning. Local food and wine can certainly be a vehicle for promoting the area - for each territory can be found some typical products: traditional food products and biodiverse products, local wines, handmade products etc. Considering above mentioned facts, AGATA project aims to establish the set of tools to help people from rural areas, decision makers and entrepreneurs jump-start early-stage services which includes the methodology, decision-making tools, learning materials and other strategic-planned kits. The overall aim of this set of tools is to help grow the local agrotourist economy by creating a community of support for entrepreneurs and cultivating an environment where emerging startups can learn, test, create, scale and thrive. Intellectual Outputs and linked specific objectives are follows: IO1 - AGATA Regional Network and Toolkit: The Essential Toolkit to developing a Centre of Taste: - To establish a Network of local actors that can contribute to the development of a region IO2 - AGATA Actions Plans to develop the Centre of Taste: An innovative methodology for the enhancement of the characterization of the enogastronomy in selected areas: - To discover of productions linked to territorial agricultural vocations, aiming at quality agriculture and to promote typical crops, food and wine and obtaining brands - To adapt Centre of Taste to local vocations by activating Agricultural and Tourism Specializations and enhance services for the local population. IO3 - AGATA online course: Multimedia open education resources Our efforts are focused on three clear target groups: a) Community leaders, Chambers of Commerce , SMEs and agri-food groups who need VET resources & tools and strategic support from AGATA Partnerships to help them develop Centre of Taste b) HEIs and business development organizations that provide VET for the rural/agri-food sector. c) Local authorities and public sector agencies that can support Centre of Taste (financially and logistically in terms of providing land, buildings and other resources) to drive rural region economic and growth.
The AGATA project aimed to develop tools for exploring the stories and promotion of agricultural products and traditional foods, and to create a model that would provide training and an organizational structure for the development of the Centre of Taste. The main mission of the Centre of Taste, as has been defined by the project, is to provide a solid foundation for the creation and expansion of businesses and jobs, focusing on the promotion of traditional food products. This advanced vocational training can help to communities, vocational training institutions, development agencies to maximize the human resources and cultural heritage potential of the area. The AGATA project created educational content using best practices in partner countries focused on the issue of specialized courses related to local culture, traditional foods, gastronomic excellence, promotion of local wines, etc. The goal of the educational content is to improve the sensitivity of potential entrepreneurs, residents of the given region, but also local and regional institutions to the potential of cultural heritage, local food production, tourism, restaurant services, etc., as community incentives at the regional and local level of development.
The rural area is often considered as the opposite of the city, urban space. Changes are constantly taking place in the rural region, which are caused by the groups of factors that make up the rural area - natural, cultural and anthropogenic components. The great importance of rural areas lies in the fact that they form part of our heritage and are an important witness to the past, which, together with the present relations between man and the natural environment, build the rural regions. Not only in Slovakia, or in the countries of the Vyšehrad Group, but in the whole of Europe, we can observe that rural areas are facing a decline in the importance of agriculture and an outflow of population. It is therefore necessary to address the revitalization of the countryside by diversifying it. Rural areas generally have great tourism potential, but very often lack strategy and rigorous planning. Local food and wine can certainly be a means of promoting a region - for each territory, several typical products can be found: traditional food products and biodiverse products, local wines, handmade products, etc.