An interview with Mark Frederiks, leader of the EU4Advice Living Lab in the Netherlands
During the EU4Advice Cross Living Lab event organised by Amped held at the beginning of July in the Netherlands, Mark Frederiks shared his experiences and insights in an interview. His passion for local food systems and extensive work developing short food supply chains over the past 15 years was central to the discussion.
Frederiks explained that his journey into local food began as an entrepreneur, deeply committed to the short food supply chain model. Over the years, he has been pivotal in establishing hundreds of these chains, focusing on community-supported agriculture and fostering collaboration, trying to engage farmers and consumers. His work has aimed at empowering farmers to access their own markets directly, thus reducing dependency on traditional, often more exploitative, distribution networks.
Frederiks emphasized that these short food supply chains act as a vital bridge between farmers and consumers. By shortening the distance between food production and consumption, these chains contribute significantly to farmers’ livelihoods. At the same time, they allow consumers to reconnect with their food sources, promoting a deeper understanding and appreciation of where their food comes from.
Frederiks also reflected on the valuable lessons he has learned while working on these initiatives. Engaging closely with farmers and communities has provided him with a profound understanding of the challenges and opportunities within local food systems.
As one of the Cross Living Labs managers in the EU4Advice project, Frederiks shared his experience facilitating the exchange of knowledge and practices among the participating labs. He highlighted the importance of these collaborative efforts in advancing the project’s goals and fostering sustainable food systems across Europe.
Watch the interview here:
Advisors
Are you helping farmers and producers to sell their things directly, to improve their bargaining power or position in the value chain, or to transition to more socially and environmentally production systems?
Now is your chance to join the first-ever European advisory network focused on short food supply chains (SFSCs), established through the Horizon Europe projects COREnet and EU4Advice, which ultimate aim is to enhance the sustainability, competitiveness and visibility of European short food supply chains. A key step to pursue this goal, is to enhance the connections between SFSC actors in Europe, the capacity building and the knowledge sharing between advisors, producers, researchers and policy-makers.
This platform will connect you to a wide community of experts and advisors related to SFSC and support effective exchange of knowledge and solutions among advisors and other food system stakeholders, through access to training materials, thematic workshops, collaborative knowledge-sharing sessions, and networking activities. Additionally, you will be listed in a public database of SFSC advisors, giving you visibility as a trusted resource in the SFSC field. Moreover, your participation will also play a role in shaping policy recommendations at the EU level that support the development of the SFSC sector.
Your involvement in the network and related activities is entirely voluntary, and you will at all times have flexibility in choosing how to participate. As a first step, we’ll ask you to complete a brief questionnaire to understand your expertise and role in SFSCs better.
