Category Archives: Agriculture

Il a plus sur le grand paysage – Film about crisis in Wallonian Dairy farming in Movie W

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Monday March 31, 20.00 the film ‘Il a plus sur le grand paysage‘ (with English subtitles) will be shown in Movie-W. The film is directed by Jean-Jacques Andrien. The director and a farmer will be present and open for discussion with the audience.

Autumn 2010. In the region of Herve, in Belgium’s east, the milk crisis of 2009 struck brutally at the dairy farms. In this profoundly estabilised context, the decision of the European Union to completely remove the milk production quota in 2015, and the determination of the World Trade Organisation to further liberalise the markets, directly threatened the existence of the farms. Nine farmers tell us of their struggle, from the heart.

Free entrance thanks to the support by Rural Sociology and Sociology of Development and Change of Wageningen University. The evening is co-organised by Otherwise, Movie-W, ILEIA, RUW and Boerengroep.

Voedselanders / Food otherwise conference very successfull

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The Voedselanders or Food Otherwise conference held last Friday and Saturday at the Wageningen Campus has been very successfull and inspiring: more then 800 people participated. Key notes speeches by a.o. Pablo Titonell, Hanny van Geel, Vandana Shiva and Olivier de Schutter were broadcasted live by wurtv.wur.nl and those did missed one or more can still see what they missed. See also the Voedselanders.nl website for links to the recordings.

Master thesis and internship possibilities: INNOVATIVE AGRICULTURE AND FORESTRY IN THE PYRENEES

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The project takes place in a little mountain village in the Spanish Pyrenees. The question is formulated by a Dutch woman who lives and works in this village. 

The central question is: How can agriculture, in a little mountain village in the Spanish Pyrenees, be developed in a way that meets the circumstances and needs of today?

This particular mountain village has been abandoned for fifty years. The association ‘Muro de Solana’ (http://murodesolana.org/) is dedicated to bring it back to life.

Pyreneeen

The means of living here used to be cattle breeding and farming, mainly producing potatoes and wheat. Since many people have left, the once cultivated fields have been replanted with pine trees. The terrain  has small fields and difficult access and also a lack of water supply. The village used to have only a few  hectares of farming fields, however, for this project they consider an area between 1-10 hectares. A true challenge!

Rather than going back to the old means of agriculture the association looks for innovative ways of farming which meet the circumstances and needs of today. This means the development of farming practices which improve the soil quality, are less intense in labour, produce products based on demands, and reconstruct the current forest fields.

The research results can be an inspiring example for other (semi-)abandoned villages in the North of Spain, giving villages an source of income, as well as providing reduced risks of forest fires.

Main goal is to regenerate forest farming fields, now poor in biodiversity and with the risk of forest fires (due to the planted pine trees), into useful, productive and fertile terrain.

There is no deadline for this project.

Contact person: lummina.horlings@wur.nl

Student asked for MSc-thesis research on poultry systems in Venda, Northern South Africa

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There is a possibility for a MSc-student to explore poultry dynamics in South Africa. Post-apartheid socio-technical development interventions (still) favours the introduction and expansion of modern poultry systems (broilers and layers) among smallholders to supply meat and eggs to urban consumers. The ‘formula 1 chicken’ (or plof kip) relies heavily on purchased industrial feed and fodder. The market, in addition, plays a crucial role. Together they shape the future of this poultry system. Next to this modern system, a flourishing poultry hinging on indigenous scavenging chicken is operational.

The project aims to make a detailed socio-technical analysis of both poultry systems with a focus on problematic issues and opportunities.

Accommodation and a translator can be arranged. Info: Paul.Hebinck@wur.nl

SOLINSA project has come to an end – the results

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January 31 the EU-funded research project SOLINSA has offically come to an end. A Special Issue of The Journal of Agricultural Education and Extension is in preparation. Publication of the SOLINSA issue is foreseen for early 2015. For now the results of the project are available at the SOLINSA website under four subheading:

  1. The concept of LINSA
  2. The relation between AKS and LINSA 
  3. Interacting with LINSA
  4. Policy recommendations

Transition partnersHere public reports of the different workpackages are published, six factsheets, posters and two video clips made for a SOLINSA webinar in which Gianluca Brunori and Talis Tisenkopf explain what LINSA are.  These are also available at You Tube SOLINSA Project. To get an overview the SOLINSA home page offers a guided tour through the project and its results. The notion of transition partner captures well the various supporting roles towards LINSA.