ALIANCAS ESTRATEGICAS: CONDICIONANTES DAS VANTAGENS COMPETITIVAS SUSTENTÁVEIS

Abstract

Simply stating that rural development programmes are in place, that there is innovation, co-operation and expertise or even simply acknowledging that behaviour and attitude is to be changed, are quite insufficient. It is vital to turn them into real actions, and concrete deeds, by sharing information and knowledge as well as adopting new procedures and models, trading forms, marketing and value distribution. The management and organization methods should be correctly applied. New forms of intervention in the production (precision agriculture, strengthening of export levels, increase organic production) must be reached and applied in a strenuous and collective way. The objectives and attitudes will have to strengthen up the interventions as well as practical and business applications, therefore gaining importance and recognizing the results and its evolutions. Its theoretical nature (based on learning and innovativeness) is essential and critical, and contributes for the evolution and change. Ideas and projects have existed but must be put into practice with consistency turning themselves into concrete decisions and actions before a real economy. In order to tackle the globalization issue, it will be critical to reinforce confidence levels and competitiveness. Quality and excellence issues are already mastered in Portugal, they now need to be complemented with the reinforcement of scale economies and by adding value to the agricultural and industrial that present connection to the sector. The sector is too hermetic within its limits and needs entrepreneurial renewal. Younger farmers have to be attracted, existing ones have to change their way of approaching the business and the reality; this should happen whilst shielding the organizations that show high levels of coordinatination, technical and training efficiency, those that are well connected (national and internationally), and sharing the already acquired knowledge. Seemingly this is not yet the case in the “Região do Oeste”, at least with the dynamics that a region like this should have, a region that leads the national statistics in number of producing units as well as in horticultural (fruit and vegetable) production growth rates.