Dairy livestock production in Southern Europe

The Workshop on “dairy livestock production in Southern Europe” took place in Thessaloniki, Greece from 10th-11 th September 2015. The delegates included major stakeholders in livestock production from Greece and neighbour countries as well as researchers and producers.

The workshop opened by the Greek Minister of Agriculture, Mr. Demetrios Melas who gave a welcome speech. Then the Deputy Head of Rural Economy of the Regional Government of Central Macedonia, Mr Ioannis Taxmazidi, presented some key issues regarding the importance of livestock production in the Region of Central Macedonia. During the rest of the workshop the latest developments in the global livestock sector were presented with special reference to Mediterranean countries.

Moreover the outputs from the EU FP7 project SOLID were presented by some of the speakers particularly as they relate to the Mediterranean region. Keynote speakers from different countries presented the dynamics of different livestock sectors in Greece and worldwide.

The presentations explored a wide range of issues covering the most important ruminant species relating to research and technology in production, novel products, quality and safety, as well as common agricultural policy (CAP). Emphasis was given to the dynamics of the livestock sector and its implications for sustainable development. In this respect the results of the SOLID project were specifically adressed. Details of the scientific program as well as the presentation of all speaker can be found below: