Scaling new heights : strengthening the mountain cereal value chain with collaboration, innovation and education for greater resilience

The Gran Alpin Value Chain is a cooperative of organic farmers with the goal of maintaining the value chain of organically grown mountain cereals in Grisons since the 1980s. The cooperative focuses on the local production and distribution of premium cereal products such as flour, pasta or beer. The main challenges consist of the high variety of different types of processed grains with mostly small volumes and the remote location of the farms that lead to complicated logistics and long transport distances. Moreover, the local infrastructure is insufficient, as proper machinery for small fields or more and smaller grain silos are needed. Also, there is a lack of qualified staff, especially in the processing stages, for example millers or brewers. The key recommendations for improving the value chains’ resilience are as follows: • Increase collaboration with other value chains and actors in the region to leverage their knowledge and resources, especially in areas such as logistics and infrastructure. • Innovate in areas such as processing and storage to reduce costs, increase efficiency and improve product quality. • Invest in training and capacity building for its stakeholders to improve their skills and knowledge in areas such as business management, marketing and quality control. By implementing these recommendations, the Gran Alpin value chain can become more resilient and better able to withstand external shocks and keep up with future trends.