The Walloon government will support 57 projects that aim to refocus food production in the region by spending a total of €45 million, the Minister in charge of Sustainable Food Céline Tellier (Ecolo) announced on Friday at a press conference in Charleroi.
Wallonia's objective is to have a solid local food system that functions in all circumstances and is able to provide citizens with sufficient food at affordable prices.
“Today, the ambition is to finance the development of agri-food infrastructures in high-potential sectors. Four sectors have been identified: fruit, vegetables, cereals and proteins. Our aim is to fill a gap. Among the projects subsidised are local mills, a cheese-making centre, a malt factory, etc. Before, you had to look to Flanders to benefit from them,” said Céline Tellier.
36 out of the 57 projects selected are described by the Minister as “small tools”, 11 as “regional centres” and 10 as “priority centres”.
“Most of them are involved in the food processing phase. But some of them aim to establish direct contact between the farmer and the consumer,” she said. Food processing consists of converting fresh produce into finished products.
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Furthermore, Céline Tellier stresses that between “20 and 40 direct and local jobs will be created per project”.
The 57 selected projects responded to one of the three calls for projects launched in June 2022 to strengthen the Walloon Region’s food autonomy. According to the region’s press release, they were selected from 151 applicants.
