EU4Advice presents at Dutch AKIS
‘Connected and resilient agriculture, the future of the farmer’. That was the theme at the fourth Workbench Netwerk Platteland on Friday, Nov. 15th, in Den Bosch. Despite public transport delays, around 170 actors from the agricultural sector gathered at the Noord-Brabant provincial government building.
Marc Oudenhoven, deputy of the province of Noord-Brabant and Guido Landheer, director of European, international and economic policy at the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security and Nature (LVVN), kicked off the day. Next, chairman of the day Ingrid Jansen led a panel discussion in which a number of agricultural entrepreneurs interacted with each other on stimulating propositions in the area of connected and resilient agriculture.
Meaningful dialogue
In the afternoon, participants were able to participate in so-called workbenches. During these workbenches, participants engaged in discussions with experts during several rounds on topics such as the future of the CAP, it’s the turn of women for socially connected and resilient agriculture, and a broader perspective on a connected food system.
Workbench ‘Cities Leading Food Production’ – EU4Advice
Mark Frederiks of Amped, Living Lab manager for Central Europe of the EU4Advice-project was invited to present and inspire on the current challenges of the food transition, the worldwide food movements, the changing role of cities, the rollout process of a ‘robust, regional and regenerative food system in the AMA’ in the Dutch Living Lab, and how EU4Advice is activating multi-actor collaboration in the food system, building dynamics and capacity for advisory and policy networks inside and between AKIS, fostering sustainable food systems across Europe.
Informal networking
At the end of the day Ingrid Jansen, co-organizers Wim Bens, president of co-organizer ZLTO and Maria Geuze, director of Slow Food Youth Network (SFYN) offered the opportunity to share their reflections on the day. Province of Noord-Brabant handed over the key to the Workshop to Carlo Vroomans of DAW and to Hester Engelsman of the province of Zuid-Holland, where the next Workbench will take place on May 23, 2025.
Finally, there were informal drinks where attendees had the opportunity to engage in conversation among themselves and exchange experiences. This Workshop provided not only a platform for knowledge sharing and discussion, but also the opportunity to network and work on solutions to rural challenges.
Dutch AKIS – EU4Advice knowledge exchange
On Dec 19th 2024 the EU4Advice Living Lab will host a Dutch AKIS delegation of experts and advisors to exchange insights to explore further collaboration.
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.
