RDA activities in the field of rural development:

• RDA is the leading partner of LAS Notranjska and represents LAS in administrative and financial matters;
• RDA prepares and executes projects in the field of rural development;
• RDA consults and helps with project preparation for various target groups (farmers, companies, non-government organisations).

The Primorsko-notranjska Region is predominantly a rural region, which means that more than 50% of the population lives in rural municipalities. Rural development is a very complex field encompassing a whole host of different activities, such as the development of farming, entrepreneurship, tourism, preserving natural and cultural heritage and traditional knowledge, intergenerational integration, transfer of skills and knowledge.

The local action group (LAS) Notranjska, which has been established in September 2015, currently connects 65 members from different sectors (public, private, economic) from the municipalities of Bloke, Cerknica and Loška dolina. LAS is a local partnership founded with the aim of achieving the goals and fulfilling the needs of the local environment adopting the “bottom-up” approach, and is organised as a contractual partnership. In order to achieve its goals, a Strategy of local development in the area of LAS Notranjska was prepared in cooperation with various stakeholders. The strategy represents a starting point for the implementation of different projects in the area of LAS.

More: www.lasnotranjska.si

The local action group LAS med Snežnikom in Nanosom also operates within the Primorsko-notranjska Region and covers the areas of the municipalities of Ilirska Bistrica, Pivka and Postojna.

In cooperation with different institutions, organisations, societies and local providers, we have created quite a few projects with the aim of encouraging greater production or processing and, consequently, greater local supply. Our activities are also focused on encouraging more efficient market organisation and recognisability of quality local offer. A great emphasis is also on the development of entrepreneurship in rural areas and the promotion of development of new products and services which are based on local endogenous potential.

Based on these premises, we have set the following goals and measures in the Regional Development Programme of the Primorsko-notranjska Region 2014-2020.
 

Programme goals:

• encourage sustainable rural development based on the development of local endogenous potential,
• encourage an increase in production for better local self-supply,
• encourage more efficient market organisation and recognisability of quality local offer.

The Rural Programme is defined by two measures: (1) preserving sustainable farming and (2) integrated rural development.
 

Measure 1 – Preserving sustainable farming

Goals:

• encourage agricultural businesses to shift to ecological farming,
• improve the age structure of the owners of agricultural businesses,
• increase the share of local self-supply,
• encourage the joint marketing of products in rural areas,
• preserve the indigenous agricultural species,
• encourage the preservation of the cultivated landscape in rural areas, biodiversity, protection of drinking water supplies,
• adapt to climate change.

Measure 2 – Integrated rural development

Goals:

• encourage diversification, establish and develop micro companies and create new jobs,
• encourage the development of new services in the countryside, basing it on local endogenous potential,
• encourage the integration of agriculture and the service industry,
• improve the accessibility and quality of information and communication technology in rural areas,
• preserve rural heritage,
• encourage intergenerational integration and knowledge transfer,
• preserve the settlement and identity of the rural area.