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Welcome to the Mountain Products Programme
The Mountain Products Programme -- implemented by FAO in the context of the Mountain Partnership -- aims to improve the income and livelihoods of mountain communities through improved production and marketing of local, quality products.
There is increasing demand around the world for quality, high-value products. In particular, for foods and beverages such as coffee, honey, herbs and spices and for handicrafts, cosmetics and medicines. But even though many of these sought-after products origin in mountain areas, mountain people rarely exploit their market potential and reap the benefits of production. Instead they are often still engaged in producing staple commodities with fluctuating prices.
The potential for differentiated, quality products to increase the incomes and improve the livelihoods of mountain farmers exists in every major region of the world. So how can we transform products from mountains into high-quality, high-value products? How can we address common problems related to high transport costs, lack of information, training and expertise in new agricultural technologies, certification and labelling to protect products and a weak communication infrastructure? And how can we enable mountain people to access niche markets, compete in markets and fetch premium prices for their local products at home and abroad?
These issues are at the core of the Mountain Products Programme. The Programme brings together partners from countries, UN agencies, IGOs, NGOs and the private sector to provide mountain people with the organization, market linkages, technology and know-how that will enable them to participate in markets for high-quality, high-value mountain products in the rapidly expanding urban centres of developing countries as well as for export to more industrialized countries.
