1st Global Summit On Metropolitan Agriculture: Summit Report

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Summit Report

1st Global Summit on

Metropolitan Agriculture

28-30 September 2010,

Rotterdam, The Netherlands


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Thankyoutothesponsorsofthe1stGlobalSummitonMetropolitanAgriculture.Weappreciateyoursupport!

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Contents

1. OVERVIEW/INTRODUCTION 4

2. BACKGROUND 6

3. THE SUMMIT 10

4. FRAMING METROPOLITAN AGRICULTURE 45

- 4.1. Genesis of the Concept 47

- 4.2. Purpose of This Report 48

- 4.3. What Are We Talking About? 48

- 4.4. A New Way of Working Together 48

- 4.5. A New Way of Thinking 49

- 4.6. With Relevance to Context 50

- 4.7. What is MetroAg? 51

- 4.8. Working Definitions 52

- 4.9. Deeper Perspectives 55

- 4.11. Boundary Issues 54

- 4.12. MetroAg and UrbanAg 54

- 4.13. Hi-Tech Approaches 56

- 4.14. Divergence 56

- 4.15. Summary and Suggestions 57

- 4.16. Appendix of Existing Definitions 57

5. WHATS NEXT? 60

6. RESOURCES 62

7. CONTACT 63

The Summit is an opportunity to build relationships- Colleen Magner

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4

OVERVIEW


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Metropolitan Agriculture is a way of looking atnew connections between agriculture and citiesthat contribute to sustainable development (of boththe city and agriculture). Metropolitan agriculturetakes place in a metropolitan environment, isaimed at the diverse needs of that metropolitanenvironment and makes use of the characteristicsof that metropolitan environment.

- Henk van Latesteijn, CEO TransForum.

About 18 months ago, the MetropolitanAgriculture Innoversity was conceived byTransForum and Reos to be a new action-learningnetwork dedicated to initiating the processesnecessary to create meaningful change in theagricultural and food sectors. Its stated objectivewas to provide a forum for knowledge-sharing and

co-creating the Metropolitan Agriculture vision andpractice around the world. It would deliver threesets of results at both the global and the locallevels--initiatives, capacity-building, andrelationships.

Since that time, in six cities worldwide, eachfacing different contexts and critical issues, theInnoversity has convened multi-stakeholder teamsfrom across the food system to begin takingconcrete steps towards increased sustainability forthe cities and the systems. The Global Summit inRotterdam from September 28-30, 2010 was held

designed to bring those teams together with otherswho were also working with these issues. In orderto showcase the work being done, forge newrelationships, learn from and with each other, andto serve as a reflection and inflection point, theSummit had a unique participatory design.

Energy and synergies were created thatdeepened the theory and practice of MetropolitanAgriculture. It was a unique gathering in thesense that it created an intensive and constructivedialogue between stakeholders from the whole

agricultural spectrum; from industrial agriculturalto urban agriculture. This report tells theSummits story.

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6

BACKGROUND


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How can MetropolitanAgriculture Contribute toSustainable Development inCities?

Within the world of food policy, there is acreeping recognition that we are on the cuspof a fundamental re-structuring of the globalfood supply, and that radical solutions mightbe needed. But solutions are always framedto answer problems. How the problem isdefined and percieved will directly afect thesorts of solutions that are proposed.

- Tim Lang and Michael HeasmanThe MetroAg Innoversity is a new action learninginstitution dedicated to initiating the processesnecessary to create meaningful change in theagricultural and food sectors.

In 2007, the UN famously announced that withinthe year half of the worlds population would livein urban areas (UNFPA 2007). The majority oftodays population increase takes place in cities;particularly in the global South, which the UNestimates will account for 93% of all urbanpopulation growth over the next four decades(ibid). This poses significant social, economic andenvironmental challenges. However, in the context

of an increasingly globalised economy, wherecities are focal points of change, all cities nowface significant challenges in meeting the complexand diverse needs of their citizens.

These needs take many different forms. Rapidurbanisation creates vast numbers of newconsumers, often poor, who require affordablefood. Changes in consumption patterns in rapidlydeveloping countries such as China, where morepeople are eating high protein meat and dairyproducts, can damage ecosystems and strain

supplies of staple foods. Middle class consumers incities in the West continue to demand high qualityfood, while at the same time economic downturnhas resulted in growing numbers of malnourishedpeople, high unemployment and urban out-migration. Cities have fewer green spaces ascompetition for space and resources increases.Pollution creates environmental health risks formany city dwellers face shortages in basic servicessuch as electricity, health and transportation asdemandoutpaces supply.

At the same time, cities depend on a globalised

food system that has removed agriculture frommetropolitan space, also increasing theirvulnerability to economic and environmental crises.

Technological advances in storage andtransportation allow food consumed in urbanareas to be produced on the other side of theplanet. This, combined with high yield crops andintensive production processes, has increased thedistance between consumer and producer.However, most of these industrial production

processes rely on high-input, chemically-basedcultivation techniques that deplete soils. This leaveslong-term yields in question as ecosystems andresources undergo severe strain. Global economicshocks can rapidly increase foodprices, which disproportionately impact poorurban consumers, and globalised supply chainsrely on cheap oil to get products from place toplace.

Further, climate change has the potential to affectcities worldwide, from sea rise and salinisationof the water table in coastal cities to significantlocalised climate shifts in all other areas, whilealso posing problems for the global food supply(Simon and Gueye 2009). A recent report on theNile delta, where the city of Alexandria is located,reports that 60% of Egypts food supply is underthreat, and wheat and maize yields could be down40% and 50% respectively in the next 30 years.On a global level, agriculture must aim fordramatic increases in efficiency, less intensiveresource use, and a reduction in externalinputs.Cities possess the knowledge, infrastructureand influence necessary to act as a catalyst for

these changes. While the complexity of thechallenges often results in highly politiciseddebate, no single actor can claim to haveadequate solutions. Increasing social opposition tothe industrialised agricultural practices discussedabove has not translated into viable alternativesfor many consumers and meets resistance fromother key stakeholders in the food system. Climatechange policy is the focus of volatile internationalnegotiation, with various sides entrenched in whatappear to be irreconcilable stances. Such fractureddisagreement moves us ever further from tackling

the problems that face the agricultural sector andcities around the world. But these immensechallenges can also be seen as opportunities forcreative dialogueand innovative action.

The Metropolitan Agriculture Innoversity aims totranscend conventional barriers and evolve thelogic of existing agricultural systems to better servethe needs of metropolitan residents.

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What is MetropolitanAgriculture?

Metropolitan Agriculture is a framework forunderstanding the diverse ways in whichagriculture can play a role in cities. It comes out of

the work done by TransForum and its partners overthe last several years developing innovative pilotprojects that incorporated agriculture with otheraspects of metropolitan systems. MetropolitanAgriculture is a lens that focuses our attention tothe huge potential synergy between agricultureand its metropolitan environment. Applying thatlens will lead to a rich diversity of agriculturalactivities that take place in that metropolitanenvironment, who are specifically aimed atmeeting the different qualitative and quantitativedemands and needs of the consumers in that

metropolitan environments and do so byintelligently taking advantage of the characteristicsof that metropolitan environment. In this wayagriculture becomes a major contributor to thesustainable development of metropoles, while inturn that metropole becomes the driver for moresustainable development of agriculture!

Within this broad framework, there is considerablepotential to integrate agricultural activities withdiverse aspects of metropolitan development, fromthe most obvious function of food production tomore innovative work with recreation, health care

and waste management systems.

Metropolitan Agriculture is a pragmatic vision fora new agricultural logic, one that attempts toaddress our current challenges through four keyprinciples, thus increasing efficiency and fullyutilising the resources of cities.

1. Using Metropolitan Resources asDesign Elements for New Agro-Systemsand Initiatives

Agriculture and cities have become separated.The relationship that historically existed betweenagriculture and cities has become tenuous. At thesame time cities are often commercial centers and thelocus of creative energy. Cities exhibit a valuablecombination of diverse social values & networks,business entrepreneurship & social activism,knowledge, technology, logistics and creativity.

The possibilities for a deeply symbiotic relationshipbetween cities and agriculture are startling. Newagricultural systems taking advantage ofmetropolitan characteristics represent a bold newevolutionary direction, a unique opportunity forhealthy interdependence and innovation ratherthan a burden.

2. Responding to the Diverse Demandsand Needs of Metropolitan PopulationsAs metropolitan populations grow, their diversityprovides opportunities for the growth of innovativefood and agriculture systems. Characteristics suchas value differences, income diversity, religious andcultural diversity, and population density are all fuelfor entrepreneurial activity. By acknowledging thevariety of demands and needs we can activelyenlarge the space for experiment and create apalette of valuable approaches and results.

3. Constantly Striving to Develop MultipleValues across DiversityThe complexity of modern agricultural systemsinvolves a vast diversity of stakeholders.Historically, relationships between stakeholders

have at best been contractual and at worstdeeply antagonistic.

Metropolitan Agriculture proposes the developmentof shared values across sectors and stakeholders.This means taking the time to apply practices thatallow the development of new links andunprecedented cross-sector alliances. This is thekey for turning perceived trade-offs into value-adding complements.

4. Creating New Combinations (of Spatial,

Technological, and Cross-Sector Elements)that Result in New Value PropositionsFood and Agricultural systems as multi-functionalsystems represent the opportunity for a shift inhow we engage with agriculture. Spatialintegration makes it possible to use land formultiple functions: for living, working, leisure andfood production. Technical integration makes itpossible to produce on a cradle-to-cradle basismaking optimal use of nutrient, water and energyresources. Cross-sector integration createsopportunities for new agricultural services, ranging

from waste management and energy production,to professional health care in a green environment.

Integrated food and agricultural systems cantranscend the limited role that food currently playsin our responses to social and environmentalchallenges, to provide new innovative businessopportunities. Beyond providing calories andnutrients, these new systems can also be designedto address issues such as healthcare, quality of lifein the urban environment, education and energyproduction. Together, these principles form theseeds of an operating logic for an innovative formof sustainable agriculture focused on the needs ofmetropolitan populations.

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Introducing theMetroAg Innoversity

Sharing Knowledge is not about givingpeople something, or getting somethingfrom them. That is only valid for informationsharing. Sharing knowledge occurs whenpeople are genuinely interested in helpingone another develop capacities for action; itis about creating learning processes

- Peter Senge

The MetroAg Innoversity is a multi-stakeholderplatform for supporting action learningexperiments in the field of agricultural systems.

The MetroAg Innoversity takes cities and citybased issues as the starting point for action andinnovation. The work has begun in Amsterdam,Chennai, Detroit/Flint, Johannesburg, Londonand So Paulo.

The objective of the Innoversity is to be aleading platform for knowledge sharing and forevolving the Metropolitan Agriculture vision andpractice around the world.

The Innoversity combines the traditional purposeof a university education and research with learning from on-the-ground innovation,testing and piloting practical innovations in thefield. The Innoversity is a shared platform forinnovation and change between participatingcities; it is a network for sharing and co-creatingknowledge and experience gathered fromprojects all around the world.

The Innoversity operates according to a uniqueset of values and principles, all of which aimto ensure the practical relevance of MetropolitanAgriculture to the challenges facing us. These

core values include:

InclusivityThe Innoversity provides space for processeswhere diverse viewpoints can co-exist. It is

a learning environment, where new experimentsand innovations that fit within metropolitanagriculture can be prototyped between farmersand consumers, business leaders and NGOs.We encourage a variety of stakeholders tojoin forces, and co-create initiatives with impactand lasting value.

EntrepreneurshipAddressing current food challenges in citiespresents far-reaching social, environmentaland business opportunities. An entrepreneurial

and streetwise stance is a key advantagewhen meeting diverse market demands, ensuringaccess and supply of food, reducing risks,minimising waste of energy and materials,and creating value, not just for singleorganisations, but for society as a whole.

Action-LearningStakeholders participating in the Innoversityare invited to learn by doing, through co-creatingnew ideas and innovations, and prototypingthem in the field. Learning is experimental

and pragmatic, implementing new initiativesand learning from market environments.

Co-CreationComplicated challenges require collaborativeapproaches. Problems never have singleowners, and best practice is often unsuited tothis complex and fast-changing environment. TheInnoversity generates an environment in whichpeople can work together to create innovativeresponses, learning how to see from diversepoints of view and use their insights to turn

problems into opportunities.

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Inclusivity Entrepreneurship

Action Learning Co-Creation


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THE SUMMIT


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The 1st Global Summit on

Metropolitan Agriculture took

place on 28-30 September

2010 in Rotterdam, The

Netherlands.

Through a variety of documentation

mediums material was gathered live

at the event.

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Agenda

Tuesday, 28 September

18:30 Opening DinnerFrom Farm to Fork: Linking Us to Our Food

and to Each Other

Welcome and Introductions

Opening Remarks by Rudy Rabbinge, Wageningen UR

Wednesday, 29 September

08:30 Opening Plenary

Setting the Stage for the Metropolitan Agriculture Innoversity

Comments by Henk van Latesteijn, TransForum

How We Will Work Together at the Summit

Provocation from Adam Kahane Author of Solving Tough Problems:

An Open Way of Talking, Listening, and Creating New Realities and

Power and Love: A Theory and Practice of Social Change.

Seeing the System Part I: City Team Teasers

Brief introductions to the Metropolitan Agriculture team projects.Seeing the System Part II: Project Marketplace

Explore what the participants of this Summit are already working

on in Metropolitan Agriculture and learn more about the Innoversity

concept. Visit the displays, talk to each other, ask questions,

make suggestions, and offer resources and coaching through

a structured process.

Making Sense of What Weve Seen:

Small group conversations looking at the patterns in our current situation,

our journeys, and what we are trying to achieve.

Seeing the System Part III: Practice for Seeing with Fresh Eyes/

Orientation to Learning Journeys

13:00 Lunch/Learning Journey Sign-Up/

Preparation with Learning Journey Team

13:30 Seeing the System Part IV: Learning Journeys

Seeing from the Outside In-Visits to Metropolitan Agriculture projects

and other sites that may challenge what we think we know.

18:45 Dinner and Debrief at Local Restaurants

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All morning activities took

place at the Van NelleOntwerpfabriek

Van Der Valk Hotel


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agricultural systems? What outcomes are we trying to create? What would support these

outcomes? What do we need from each other to help us do what is needed of us all?

18:30 BREAK

20:00 Dinner and Summit Closing at the Fabriek

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28 SEPTEMBEROpening Dinner

On the evening on the 28th September,participants and facilitators gathered together

for the opening dinner of the Summit. RudyRabbinge, chairman of TransForum'sInternational Advisory Board, provided briefopening remarks.

The title of the dinner was From Farm to Fork:Linking Us to Our Food and Each Other. Theunique menu identified the origin of the course'singredients on a map. During the dinner, dinersswitched tables for each course in a dance whichgave the participants the opportunity to meet eachother and seeded conversations (with support from

the table's hosts).

Dinner Questions

What is your personal and professional connectionto food and agriculture?

What are you working on now that most excites

you?As you look at the map and read a little aboutwhere tonights food comes from, what surprisesyou? Does anything make you curious? (It wouldbe interesting to hear from those from theNetherlands about anything additional they mightadd as well).

As you think about some of the ingredients on yourplate/on this menu and you think aboutmetropolitan agriculture, what comes up for you?

What is unique to your region that you want us toknow?

If you were a betting person, where in this fieldwould you put your money?

Where do you see the NEW opportunitiesshowing up?

Anything else youd like to share?

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29 SEPTEMBEROpening Plenary8.30am-1pm

Setting the Stage for the Metropolitan

Agriculture Innoversity.

Henk van Latesteijn, General Manager ofTransForum, gave his view on MetropolitanAgriculture:

Metropolitan Agriculture is a set innovativeagricultural activities in a metropolitan environmentthat take advantage of the urban landscape tomeet consumers demands. MetropolitanAgriculture can be seen as a lens, which makesyou see the world in many different colors, and

without it everything seems black and white.

In speaking about the complexity of this visionHenk said,

Metropolitan Agriculture is a designenterprise

which isnt about optimizing but redesigningbusiness.

"Criticism needs to be reshaped into design

elements..."

This design solution starts with cooperationinstead of fighting.

Start collaborations with people you neverdreamed of before. Step out of the box

and collaborate!

According to Henk, we often organize a conflictwithout a solution; polarizing the debate. We haveto stop fighting with each other and re-phrase the

criticism as design criteria, re-framing the issue tolook at the same problems to see new solutions.

There is no single solution, there aremutiple

solutions.

Historically, agriculture has its own culture, andfarmers hardly ever spoke to the city. MetropolitanAgriculture represents a shift in this and leads todiversification, where there is no one right answerbut millions. Metropolitan Agriculture uses all of

the resources in a metropolitan area to makeagriculture more sustainable.

We need common motivation to move

forward

Linking back to Metropolitan Agriculture as a teameffort, Henk spoke of the metropolitan communityand how the Innoversity can create a space for thiscommunity in which to act and evolve.

Ultimately Henk framed Metropolitan Agriculturewithin sustainability, going back to how the visionis framed by the triple bottom line of people,planet and profit. Henk posed the question; canagriculture be a catalyst for the sustainabledevelopment of metropolitan areas?

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Check in

Colleen Magner facilitated a check-in, askingparticipants to have a conversation about theirhopes for their time together, and what they

might offer towards that.

Where are you on this map of hopes?- Colleen Magner

We often dont want to go where the biggestlearning happens

-Colleen Magner

Some statements made by participants:

We have to use the transitional moment that wehave

We can help and see people communicate witheach other hear from other people facing the samechallenges- like those who are working with otherswho working to improve food security and foodjustice

Help others see their own diverse constituency usethis opportunity to participate on the global stageand learn to work together as different groupsworking in the same space on some of the sameissues

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How Will We Work Togetherat the Summit?

Provocation from Adam Kahane Author ofSolving Tough Problems: An Open Way ofTalking, Listening, and Creating New Realities

and Power and Love: A Theory and Practiceof Social Change

What does actually take to make progress onaddressing complex social challenges? He gavethe example of a South African joke as anintroduction to his solution:

There is a practical option and a miraculousoption; the miraculous option is that we would allget on our knees and pray that a bunch of angelsto come down and find a solution. The practical

solution is that we stay here and work together

Social challenges are complex. There are threetypes of complexity:

- Dynamic Complexity; where cause and effect arefar apart in place in time and you need to use asystemic approach.

- Social complexity; where there are so manydiverse perspectives and players involved that youneed a participative approach, involving the

actual stakeholders, rather than experts

- Generative Complexity; problems and situationsrequire new solutions because they are newproblems. This requires an emergent process,because we can't rely on old ways or bestpractices from the past.

In terms of working in groups, the most basic modeof working in groups is talking and listening. Thereare different levels of listening:

1. Downloading; saying what we always say andnot hearing a word.

2. Debating; saying what we think and listening todecide if we agree with whats been said.

3. Dialoging; saying what we think and where itcomes from and trying to listen to understandwhere it is coming from.

4. Presencing; where we listen to try and figure outwhat is arising from this group as a whole.

Listen with empathy

Adam also talked about power and love, and theinterplay between the two. Love is the drive to

make whole -- to reunite the separated, and poweris the drive to grow to re-create.

Power without love is reckless and abusiveand love without power is sentimental and

anemicMost of us have a comfort zone of being on oneside or the other of the power/love paradigm andwe have to learn to act using both. In thisdiscussion he addressed the balance of qualitiestraditionally seen as feminine and masculine.

We are not used to making distinctions in thefeminine functions

This process requires time and patience, not justdownloading and debating but dialoguing andpresencing. Not either power or love, but both.

We need lots of opportunities for trial and lots of

opportunities for error

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Seeing the System Part I: CityTeam Teasers

For the last year, six teams in six cities havebeen working on how Metropolitan Agriculturecan contribute to the sustainable development of

their city. Here, brief introductions to theMetropolitan Agriculture team projects weregiven.

Johannesburg

Would we be able to change South Africaseconomic structure through food?

The informal market is huge in Johannesburg. Thequestion is whether Metropolitan Agriculture canbenefit both the formal and informal market.

Comments were made on the centralizedJohannesburg Fresh Central Food Market wheremost food goes through market.

Agriculture is 40% of states GDP 8% population living in slums

Can we create jobs through this?

In the Metropolitan Agriculture project, activitieshave included stakeholder interviews to hear needsrelating to growing metropolitan food demand and

assess present supply chain catering.

The challenges were framed as finding the rightpeople, social/political and economic factors,clear understanding of objectives and attaining ahigh level of stakeholder involvement.

Lets call Metropolitan Agriculture a socialmovement

An asset identified within the MetropolitanAgriculture project is a network willing to shareand collaborate, where investment is eager.Issues to confront with Metropolitan Agriculturecould be:

Race

Poverty- changed economic structure

Food-sustainable food system

Unemployment- employment for thedisadvantaged

Urban Agriculture is still very marginal

as is organic food

Detroit / Flint

What can we do with our green and vacantspaces?

In the Detroit / Flint area there was a rapidpopulation growth and now great urban flight andlots of vacant buildings:

50% population decline in both Detroit and Flintfrom 2 million to 900,000 in last 50 years

35% unemployment

An opportunity to utilize the vacant land and theunused labor for urban agriculture

Only 41 % of housing is within walking distanceof a grocery store

Diversity map / race split

If it doesnt make dollars, it doesnt makesense

"we're trying to show the world what happensin a post industrial area"

This region is moving from competition of intereststo balancing complexities. The communityresponded and the world is responding, there are1200 productive gardens, 200 communitygardens has been created with vegetables,chickens, bees, all under the regulatory frameworkof a city.

Food demand grows, protein demands grows, wellfaster than the demand for "slow food".

Being detached from natural cycles hasworsened our mental health

There is some kind of counter-culture happening;qualities matter and values matter.

Challenges:

Scale: Should we go big? Should we go small?

What is big? What is small? Time: should we go permanent? should we

go temporary?

Culture: Who likes it? who doesn't? How dowe conciliate backgrounds as different as whiteeducated hipsters with black poor youth?

Approach:

We are trying to move from either/orto and/and"

Context, context, context: what works in oneplace doesn't necessarily work in another.

Chennai

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Chennai has one of the highest populationdensities in the world. 45 million population, 80%of people live in substandard conditions.

We agree the innoversity is a very valuableconcept, even though there are manychallenges

Could we create a green belt around thecity?

Amsterdam

Agriculture claims land and space; land prices arehigh for those working in agriculture. There is agrowing need for livable urban structures toincrease food production for the increasingmetropolitan population.

An example is Landmarkt, an agricultural market

that connects metropolitan consumers with farmers.At Landmarkt small agricultural farms in thesurrounding of Amsterdam, are connected withconsumers. Thise small farms produces multiplegoods.

Around the city agriculture connects country andcity and connects with nature (example Agromere).In finding new food solutions for the city how canwe find large scale production to a growingmetropolitan population?

So Paulo

Water issues: First agriculture seemed as a threatto water, now it is seen as a partner. Metropolitanareas can be multifunctional.

Challenges:

Connecting producers and closed loop cycles

Multi functionality systems

Meeting metropolitan demand

Dealing with inequality Maintaining metropolitan space

Food security

Valuing cultural heritage

Need for technical and credit support

Opportunities

Distribution network

Education and media channels

Existing legislation Land available

Organic waste

Purchasing power

Prototypes

School lunches

Reference centers

Metropolitan Agriculture sector chamber

Alternative marketing channels

How do we confront lack of representationin the group? Most people are fromalternative movements (slow food, organics,etc.)

Integration of Flows

Local--- globalmicro---macroSpatial---closed loopdistributivetechnological

How do we think about the future of foodproduction in the context of foodsustainability?

Many of us choose to live in cities, but do we missthe rural ways of life? When we go to rural areaswe like it, but we also like to live in the cities.

Agriculture is changing to provide new products,new roles, not only food, fibre, energy.

Environmental services,

Social services (care farms, education)

Bioenergy

Cultural services

Cities in developing countries re growing andthe countryside population is shrinking

Boundaries are fading, disappearing in themodern world

NGO-business

Quantity does matter...Quality based onvalues

does matter

We need a better definition for MetropolitanAgriculture

Do we need a sudden convergence ofdiferent food movements or a slowevolution?

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Seeing the System Part II:Project Marketplace

In an informal "fair" or exhibition, projectteams presented their project. Everyone wasencouraged to visit the displays, talk with

each other, ask questions, make suggestions,and offer resources and coaching througha structured process.

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Making Sense of WhatWeve Seen

Small group conversations looking at thepatterns in our current situation, our journeys,and what we are trying to achieve.

After the first mornings presentations and theProjects Marketplace the group noticed a lot ofsimilarities and also many differences. People fromgeographically distant places were talking aboutsimilar issues such as zoning regulation issues, cityregulations about keeping animals, and issues withfunding organizations.

Differences also jumped to the eye. We heardabout the importance of food security in SouthAfrica and India, but not in the Netherlands.

Space is an issue in India and in the Netherlands,but definitely not an issue in Detroit, where thepopulation has dropped by 60% in the pastdecades.

Participant quotes:

I'm not alone on this island!"

Its obvious to me its not about food, everyone Iheard was talking about social change -

My frustration here is with the vast amount of

experts here, who dont get their hands dirty. Wecant fix this purely from an area of academicexpertise

The main challenges are cultural, how can wecreate a more positive image of agriculture?

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Patterns identified:

Socio-economic issues:

- Cities are dealing with social issues (racial,

class) through agriculture- Patriarchy; men still make decisions - need toengage women

- Poverty is a reality throughout the world are we giving adequate thought to this?

- The needs for food security and food access

- Economic concerns always present

- Prices competition

- Jobs are in processing seen as more

interesting, farming is less 'boring'.

Issues of working together andinvolving the right people:

- Not all stakeholders are participating,how do we get them there?

- Researchers, policy makers and practitionersneed a common language

- How do we get decision makers on boardwith Metropolitan Agriculture?

- Need for integration: money, racecompanies, organizations, NGOs

- Common thread of need of farmers toconnect consumers with farmers, professorsand communities - all need to be involved

- Work the solution, not the problem.Stop blaming, focus on common goals

Governance issues:

- Government isnt doing that muchto support efforts

- Regulations preventing good local foodfrom being accessible to all includingthe poor

- Authorities / bureaucracy and fragilityof small initiatives

- Companies = power and control

- Centralized supply systems


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Possible solutions:

- Organic technology importantin most projects

- Function combination is essential

- Permaculture tech & philosophy

- Agro & eco touch

- Agriculture as a means to socialtransformation

- Need highly applicable, practical research

Issues of scale:

- An addition to small scale: large scale

- Small scale or large(r) scale approach, how

to get from small scale to broader areas- Disconnection between different scale levels

- Big or sustainable? It may take both

Issues of the food system as a whole:

- Repeating or recreating patterns that leadus to food crisis in our solution

- The meat problem increase consumption

- Excess of production, but the food is not

on the plate- Food miles

- Food safety requires total quality chain, ismixed up with local production, big volumesare needed for food safety

- Without systemic change theres not a lotof money to be made or opportunities foragriculture to become an economic driver

- Use food to change other things

Issues on learning and education:

- Need for education about where foodcomes from

- How do we create a demand for goodfood?

- Youth and children engagement in processof changing behaviors

- Were talking about points of production notabout chains and networks

- Agreement that food system as we know itisnt working - thread runs through alldifferent areas of social inequality

- Overwhelming big issues, recognition ofimpact, it is universal

- Farming systems are mixing- Food is an element of metropolitan andeconomic development

General issues

- Actions are very similar (e.g. engagingstakeholders, solutions to problems)

- Amazed by the complexity of it

- Lots of enthusiasm, lots of information

- Diversity of realities and similar problems- Slow and continuous processes


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Seeing the System Part III:Seeing with Fresh Eyes

After a morning of learning from the people "inthe room" and building our collectiveunderstanding with each other, participants

undertook a Learning Journey; a physical triparound the system where a team travelstogether in order to immerse themselves in theissue they are trying to address, allowing themto see it with fresh eyes through the experiencesand perspectives of others.

How does a Learning Journey Work?

If we merely sit where we are and survey thesystem we are part of from a constant place thenwe will never gain the deeper understandingnecessary to effect transformational andsustainable change. One of the best ways to buildthat understanding is to go out into the world andchange our frame of reference. Shifting how wesee a problem situation from the inside lookingout, to the outside looking inenables valuableinsights to emerge.

Each group visited at least two locations.

On the way to the first visit the facilitator asked the

group to do some reflection and some sharing inpairs on the bus. For part of the drive, they askedthe group to be silent, spending that time noticingthe characteristics of what was passed en route tothe visit. What was there, what stood out, whatwere you seeing that you might not have noticedbefore?

The groups appointed a greeter for each of theirvisits. This person introduced the project and thegroup upon arrival. The Greeter also thanked thehost(s) at the end of the visit.

Instructions for the Learning Journeys included:

Turn all cell phones off and be completely presentto the visit.

Listen and observe carefully. Pay attention to bothwhat you see and what you dont. Listen to boththe words and the music. Take notes as you needfor your own use. These notes should capture yourkey insights and key quotes (in the hosts ownvoices).

Ask questions of the people you are visiting; payattention to their thinking and feelings. Also, notice

your own thinking and feelings: your reactions,judgments, projections, etc.Listen from within the people with whom you aretalking, with empathy and without judgment. Itsnot about what you think their story isits whattheir story really is.

Access your ignorance and cultivate a sense ofwonder.

If possible, split up and walk around to talk withmore people. Remember that whatever unexpectedthings happen are all a part of the learningjourney.

When you get back on the bus to go to the secondlocationspend ten minutes in silence. Reflection isoften deepened this way. Please do not beginchatting or checking voice mail, email, etc.Then, talk together as a group:

What stood out for you during the visit? What didyou see, what did you hear, and what did you feel?What surprised you?

What did you notice about your own noticingduring the visitabout your own thoughts andfeelings and those of the group?

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Learning Journey #1

Green Care AmsterdamThe starting point for Green Care Amsterdam is thepotential of agriculture and the landscapearound cities to contribute significantly to the well-

being of urban citizens. In Green Care Amsterdamagricultural farms commercially offer recreationalor work-related activities for psychiatric patients,people with learning disabilities, (former) drugaddicts, youngsters with behavioral problems,burntout an elderly people and social-serviceclients. A new business called Landzijde was setup to facilitate care activities on existing farms inaddition to their agricultural activities. Landzijdefunctions as knowledge centre, matchmaker anddeveloper for clients, farmers, health careorganizations, medical insurance companies andthe municipal government.www.landzijde.nl

MarQt/MyFarmerFarmers in the vicinity of Amsterdam have joinedforces in MijnBoer (MyFarmer). They collectivelyoffer their products directly to the consumer viaalternative distribution channels. One of thedistribution channels is the new supermarketformula MarQt, where farmers sell their daily freshproducts. This establishes direct contact betweenthe producer and consumer. MarQt recieves apercentage of the farmers sales. In additionconsumers can consult a website to see where theirproducts come from and are invited to the farmsfor demonstrations.http://www.marqt.com/?p=abouthttp://www.mijnboer.nl/home.aspx

Participant Notes

- How do we minimise logistics (small scale)?

- Like to invest in product development. Valueadded (needed for better on farm prices)

- My Farmer is a brand

- LT Relations - Farmers - LT Relations to buyers- International sourcing important with fair prices -

short chains

- MarQT is a brand for health

- Supermarket is over the top for some people

- City farm - Green care. City owns land

- Lonside foundation owns and saves farms forsocial programmes: addictions, psychprogramme, new money in

- Future for farms - to solve city problems

- School at farm - 100% 11 people

- Sold 3 million euro - 50 farmer - my Boer - 5million euro

- Out of home 1.6 billion euro

- More effort, closer to own

- School - training schools for farmers, languageskills

- Regulated systems not good, self employment,new method

- High percentage stay with, only 5% quit (5 out of112)

- Low stimulation - people needed

- Move to offer job to clients (big step)

- 1 year through steps

- Care farm wholesale, small coop, nationalbreeding, resulted in My Farmers

- Farmers in city put deals together

- Sale was good for dutch farmers

- Idealism - more than that

- Risk (148,000 euro)

- New kitchen for students to learn culinary arts

-

Connects to other farms- have to allow people to think in a different way

- World market - Farmers

- Other farmers - related to city - do business withthis group

- Let them work and learn, let them learn andwork

Learning Journey #2

Rondeel Chicken farm

The Rondeel is a unique chicken-husbandry systemthat responds to the public demand for animalwelfare, food safety and animal health. Theconcept takes into account jointly formulatedcriteria with respect to the environment (reducedammonia emission), chicken welfare and health,harmonization with the landscape and the wishesof the poultry farmer. Thanks to the cooperation ofthe Animal Protection Foundation, this new housingsystem for laying hens meets the highest animalwelfare standards. The eggs produced in theRondeel are being sold in one of the bigger

supermarkets in the Netherlands.

Participant Notes

- 28000 eggs are produced every day- Highest animal welfare standards of the country.

- Admiration for the entrepreneurial spirit and forthe velocity with which the project became a(successful) reality on one side.

- Doubts about the real benefits of such anenterprise on the other side. The company isbased on several improvement of conventionalintensive farming, without looking into deeperfacets of the sustainability of the company (suchas packaging, feed, nutrient recycling,integrating different products)

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Com.wonenThis project is run by the Dutch housingorganization in an area that is going to bedeveloped for housing in the city but is nowtemporarily used for agriculture. Agriculture andgreen space are two of the main design criteriafor its further development. In their vision,

agricultural activities are the key to a better socialcohesion, a healthy living environment and canhave an important educational function for childrenin the city.The urban vegetable patch is part ofa big project called "Healthy cities", a partnershipof a construction company, an elder carecompany, a housing company, a health carecompany. The project started after the realisationthat in Rotterdam, on average, people die 2 yearsearlier than in the rest of the country, due alsoto poor nutrition.

Participant Notes- Growing garden on a plot where houses are

going to be built in 2 years

- First of this kind and hopefully it will beintegrated in the company strategy in the future.

- 12 women housed by Com.wonen (socialhousing) farm the plot.

- Many achievements in the last year (45 differentcrops, meals, fun, neighborhood involvement...)but also problems (conflicts, weeds invasions inthe summer holiday, when the Turkish volunteers,two thirds of the total, went away for a fewweeks).

- We liked how such an initiative was made areality by the determination of a small groupof people, but also amazed by the potential thisapproach could have for the neighborhood andfor the company, which houses hundredsof households.

Learning Journey #3

Greenport Betuwse Bloem

In the Betuwe region in the Netherlands, fivehorticultural areas operate in close proximity toeachother. There was little cooperation betweenthese areas however. With the initiative ofGreenport Betuwse Bloem (Betuwe Flower)different stakeholders see scope or logisticalopportunities (collective transportation), energyflows, high-grade landscape to be utilized moreeffectively than present. This cooperationstrengthen the regions horticulture in terms of

profitability while at the same time helpingpreserve the typical landscape and the quality oflife in the cities around the region.

http://www.greenportbetuwsebloem.nl/projecten.asp?id=9

Participant Notes

- Compost grown specifically for mushrooms, madefrom horse and chicken manure.

- We watched a video about the process fromcompost > mushroom production> distribution

PlantLabPlantLabs mission is thinking up and achieving

sustainable and inspiring progress in the cultivationof crops. For optimum production and growthplants have specific requirements of their growingenvironment. The ideal mix of water, light,nutrition, CO2 and temperature is only availableto a limited extent from nature for part of the year.Globally only some of the climate zones aresuitable for plant production whereas the worldpopulation and the relating demand for food isincreasing. Within PlantLab all interests andstakeholders are actively involved in an openprocess in order to use the powers of nature with

all available technology and knowledge. Incollaboration with business partners andconsumers this creates specialand varied projects and quality rich products.

http://www.plantlab.nl/

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Participant Notes

-Plants use 9% of their growing capacity, can weharness the potential of the other 91%? This is an

economic opportunity and business model.-What does a plant need for optimaldevelopment?Is this a way to feed the worldshungry people?

- GOAL > R&D > PLAN > BUILD> TECHNICAL SERVICE

Learning Journey #4

Green and the City & Mainport-GreenportTwo regional projects focusing on Midden Delflandwill be visited on this Learning Journey. First,Green and the City concerns extensive agricultureand its relationship with the surrounding cities,Rotterdam and the Hague. How can we involveresidents of these cities and make them responsiblefor the green around them? Mainport-Greenportdeals with sustainable development of intensiveforms of agriculture in this region. It includes a visitto an innovative greenhouse facility that usesbiomass and CO2 as production facilities.

Learning Journey #5

Het Groene WoudThe Groene Woud (the green forest) is a greenareasurrounded by several larger cities in the southof the Netherlands. It functions as a green corridorfor those cities and is characterized by multipleunique and small agricultural activities. These

agricultural activities give the area its specialcharacter. The cooperation Het Groene Woud is acollaboration between all these smaller agriculturalactivities.With the groene woud-logo, the productsfrom this area are branded as local, environmentalfriendly and preserving the typical landscape. Thislearning journey visits two of the activities: thePhilips Fruit garden, a fruit garden and restaurant,which sells and serves their own products inthe vicinity of Eindhoven. www.philipsfruittuin.nl,and the Spelt grain brewery, an authentic breweryof special spelt-beer. www.graangoed.nl

Participant Notes

- Host started in 1997 out of his kitchen, now ownsa brewery, won a an award for Hero of thetaste. Is sourcing all things regionally

- In talking about the brewery he said nothingmakes him happier than seeing his customerssitting in his tasting room enjoying his beer

- In talking about the regional cooperation we tryto listen to each other to make the same future ,not talk over each other but listen, its people who

want to create the same environment- The love and pride these local entrepreneursexpressed about their work

- The importance of the story attached to eachenterprise

- Importance of place and local/regional networks

- Conflicting opinions about hunger in Holland

- Connection and history to the land

Learning Journey #6

Improvement CentreThe Improvement Centre is a practical centre forresearch and experiments on optimal cultivationprocesses and techniques. It offers the possibility totest parts of the cultivation processes forhorticulture under perfect conditions. This makes itpossible to achieve an exact estimate in advanceabout the effect specific and new techniques,products and innovations will have on a largerscale in a production greenhouse. An example isthe combined production of tomatoes and tilapiaunder most efficient conditions.http://www.improvementcentre.com/Frameset%201280.htm

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Particpant Notes

- Intensive production may not be sustainable

- Water effecting energy and usage

- Could be answer to having problems in India

- Flood and draught issues / controlled

environment- Could be answer to food inflation

- Onput use efficiency

- Will it be possible to produce enough food withthese high-tech methods

- What do you lose when you dont grow in soil?

- Trace elements? flavour and nutrition

- 90% of high tech production goes for export inthe Netherlands. Optimistic presentation -negative connotations - two schools of belief -

social and high tech / connections w/people

biet&boonbiet&boon constructs and maintains urban marketgardens where local residents and institutions,like schools, sports club, and youth organisationswill participate in the production. The market

garden will bring fresh produce close to people inmetropolitan areas as well as bringing peopletogether. It addresses social, education and healthissues, and last but not least, contributes tosustainable urban development. Our first marketgarden will be built this winter in RotterdamHeijplaat, a small suburb at the border betweencity and harbour. The first production will start inMarch, if the weather conditions are right. Duringthe learning journey, we will make a walk throughHeijplaat, and address all the issues related to thisproject.

Participant Notes

- At the biet & boon town, enjoyed touring theharbor of the town and the social context

- At the improvement centre, its so high-tech ittakes the joy out of production

- employment issue - opportunity cost. How muchdo they pay the 12 laborers at the employmentcentre

- Contrast in the two stops between socialcomponent and high-tech productionenvironment. Quite a contrast

- Food manufacturing - using social, risk and lossof connection with the land and conservation ofthe land. Impressed w/how successful the hightech production was.

- Tech = useful - want to connect people to theland, however. Where can these two conceptsmeet? Where is the middle ground?

- Admire the efficiency of the improvementcentre / fascinated by technology

- Resistance to industrialized production

- Is there a choice when we need to feed theworld?

- Deal w/emotion - resistance to pure technology

- Urban village vs intensive production - how tolink?

- Why does farming need to be romantic? Changeview of agriculture?

- Discussion - how many centuries have we beenimproving our food systems

- Selection of genes for optimised production

- Health give and take - effect on human body?

- Diversity of needs available now vs in the past

- Bringing the production of food to addresshuman condition

- Balance of technology and emotion

- Energy motion - emotion contrast

- Can apply both efficiency & social context?

Learning Journey #7

StreekselectiesStreekselecties (local selections) focuses on theproduction of high quality local food products andthe distribution of these products to localsupermarkets. The products are distributed under aspecial brand, which informs consumers about theproduct and the farmer and showcases itsauthenticity, craftsmanship, and the passion thatwent into making it.www.vangijs.nl

Childcare at the FarmClose to the city of Tilburg in the south of theNetherlands, childcare and agriculture iscombined at Childcare at the Farm. Working city

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30 SEPTEMBERMorning Plenary

In order to share some of the stories of thepeople we visited on the Learning Journeys, we

shared some of their words through directquotes.

I shop at this market because the vegetablestaste better. I try not to think about price butI know that the food here taste like thevegetables where what I buy at asupermarket they taste like water- MyFarmer customer

We try to listen to each other so we canmake the same future- Owner of the brewery in refering to the local economicnetwork they are creating

When I see a group of people in my tastingroom drinking my beer I am happy

-said by brewer

We told the banker when we were trying toget the loan to build the pancake house thatsometimes one plus one equals three

- the manager of the apple orchard when describing howsometimes there are additional indirect benefits to socialinitiatives

when buying things regionally the moneypasses through the local economy 2-3 times- said by the person setting up a regional network of

producers and entrepreneurs

Building on our Learning Journey experiencestogether, we asked; whats really happening in thesystem? How will these insights help us move ourwork forward more effectively?

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Provocation from Jan Kees Vis (Unilever)Jan Kees Vis is Head of Sustainable Agriculture atUnilever. During his provocation he gave his viewon the food system, sustainable development andmetropolitan agriculture. A selection of the topicshe discussed:

The system is largely self-organizing; do we needa grand design? And if we do, who should dothat design?

If so, how to make sure people implement it? In

other words: does the system need regulations?How do you choose between different levels oftechnology?

What are we trying to solve? Food security,poverty or waste...?

Should ethics take part in these discussions?Whose ethics are they going to be? Is there alevel of ethics that we can all agree to?

Unilever will source from only sustainable

suppliers by 2020

The question of Metropolitan Agriculture is: howare we going to feed 4 billion people living in bigcities in the near future?

How do you chose between different levels oftechnology?

Are we trying to solve food security? Hunger?Poverty? Waste?

Hunger and poverty were among the things thatUnilever is trying to solve

Should ethics play a role in the discussion. If theydo then whose ethics are they?

Can you influence consumer preference throughethics?

Do we have to link producers and consumers?


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Concurrent Conversations withMetAg ChampionsThe concurrent conversations on MetropolitanAgriculture took place in different locationsacross the Fabriek.

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The Potential of Metro Ag for FoodSecurityhosted by Dr. Rudy Rabbinge,Wageningen University, Netherlands andFlorian Kroll, food security andenvironmental researcherand consultant, South Africa

- Historical perspective / food policy / fallingback on values, skills and history

- What are we learning on a large scale,adaptable to food systems ecology? A smallscale can be more viable than large scale

- System does provide food security to many

- Dramatic change - working with private sector

- Charge from supply to demand structure

- Rice systems programme

- Major places: Chinese Agri, Brapp?aBligual? Land Bank in U.S., Wageningan inNetherlands

- Relationship w/university - in S.Africa,extension services are gone

- Political will to make change

- 1.5% of tomatoes in large greenhouses arewaste - when asked to respond; ownersdenied using surplus to repurpose

- Food insecurity is changing - policy onnational level

- S.African sales poor - more need, but there

are a mixture of farms- Willingness of banks to invest is?

- Actual yield is still less than adequate inputs

- Make value added products

- Suggest policy to prevent adaption ofAmerican Diet

- Mediterranean diet is better / meatconsumption / Italian (Olive, garlic, fish)

- Public health element - more healthyconsumer

- Food production to added health issuein Australia

Business Models for Linking SmallerProducers to Metropolitan Marketshosted by Dan Carmody, Detroit EasternMarket, USA and Jan Kees Vis,Unilever, Netherlands

- Role of middle person between grower andconsumer is important, play a role inmarketing the value of the product, maintainintegrity and educate consumer

- Need to build foundation of similar values forthe relationship between producers andsuppliers (global standards!)

- Need for better market research and marketinformation to understand demand

- Develop diversity of markets for producersand consumers

- Change peoples relationship to food andbetween suppliers and consumers

- Need to create demand and grow thesupply together

- Create a social movement to promote localfarmers and locally produced food


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The Role of Reflective Learning inPractical Metro Ag Innovation Projectshosted by Dr. Chris Peterson, MichiganState University, USA and Jan Kees Vis,Unilever, Netherlands

The MetroAg staff has learnt a lot during theprojects in the last few years. Chris Petersonreviewed over 30 projects, and looked at whatdistinguishes a high-performance project froma low-performance one.

All the projects intended to operate under 5common principles:

1.Sustainable Development (SD) is a dynamic process. Don't spend 3 years trying to define SD, the

concept itself will change in the meanwhile.

2. SD needs system innovation.People will do something new inthe project

3. System-innovation is a non-linear process. Conventional projects start with a problemdefinition, then a solution is worked out,which then needs to be applied. This is notthe case of SD as the problem itself cannotbe defined. Joint knowledge creation needsto happen, followed by joint reflective learning.

These projects are NOT designed to solveproblems, but to manage complex problems.

4. System-innovation involves multiplestakeholders

messy problems, with many people involved

5. Multi-stakeholder approaches implytrans-disciplinary knowledge creation

There were about 30 projects; some realwinners, some losers and some in between.There were four performance categories. 75%

of high-performance projects found reflectivelearning important. And 50% of low-performance projects also thought it's crucial,because it did not happen. [he had a table ofthe survey results.]

How was reflective leaning created?There was a designated person, to tracklearning; the process-monitor who was adistinct person from the project leader (whoneeds to focus on the content and performanceof the project and not the dynamics in the

team). This person didn't just monitor, but alsointervened. For example by 'constantly' asking'Why?', by this not allowing avoidance.

The process-monitor can use tension forcreating understanding of differences. One ofthe imortant roles is to set aside reflectiontimes; crucial time-outs sometimes in the formof workshop sessions, bringing in an externalexpert or learning journeys where the team

could focus on the process or just spend timetogether not focusing so much on the projectgoals.

Reflective learning is a particularly unnaturalact for project groups. Therefore needs to be'artificially' created.

Comment:In case of less hierarchical projects, like theMetroAg projects, more of the reflectivelearning process is needed in order tosucceed. Projects were independent, but

TransForum could provide some structure.

One of the learning outcomes (of this session):It can help if the process-monitor makes his/herrole more explicit; Hi, I am here to help, notto ask annoying questions. 5

- A culture of reflection enables teams to keeplearning, even when its difficult

- Strategic behavior and and an open mindare two key aspects of that culture

- You need a designated process person in aninnovation team because groups tend to getcaught up in the content and the doing,despite their best intentions to remainreflective;

- It helps to make this role explicit and tohighlight the benefits of this role to thegroup - as sometimes they may feelresistant to having process issuesidentified, especially if these processissues represent elephants in the room

- The process person ideally occupies arole slightly removed from the group, sothat they can keep the necessary processperspective

- The most important characteristic of aprocess person is that they are able togain the permission of the group to playthis role

- It can take courage to play this roleat times

- A strong process person will also havecontent expertise

- Both short term and long term reflections areuseful


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36

Business Models for SustainableIntenstificationhosted byDr. Peter Smeets, WageningenUniversity, Netherlands

The host was making a mind map as wespoke.

At the beginning, Peter Smeets illustrates theNellore Agropark Special Exporting Zoneproject. There is a vision and there arechallenges. The latter come mostly from theneed to combine many different actors("KENGi actors"):

>Knowledge institute>Entrepreneurs

>NGOs>Governments

Each has a different "currency": peer reviewedpublications, profit, influence, power. Makinga project like the agropark work needs tomake these interest meet, translate theirdifferent standpoints into something they canunderstand.

The group is mainly of urban farmers, and thepresentation suggests a lot of questions on theproject and on what small scale initiatives canlearn from this work:

- Who owns the byproducts that areexchanged? Typically an independentcompany is formed, a joint venture betweenthe interested parties. The company's profitare shared and through it waste becomes avaluable product.

- How can a similar initiative be fostered by agovernment like a U.S. state government?By changing environmental law, landownership laws (e.g. what is "waste"? can

cities own and manage land?)- What applications similar to this can exist in

a situation like Detroit, where there is aconstellation of small initiatives? Sharing ofinfrastructure: composting, manurecollection: if garbage collection exist in acity environment, why not this kind of stuff?But, it is noted, large scale is determinant tomake Agroparks profitable. The typical sizeis 400 hectares, 1000 acres.

- Is meat production necessary? The system ismade of three components: plant

production, consumption (by animals),decomposition. The middle step can be

insects (like in Asia or Latin America), canbe fish (with aquaculture), can be humans(recovering human waste), but typicallypoultry/cattle/sheeps is the most easy tomanage/market.

- Is the Agropark an energy consumer or

producer? It is absolutely producing energy,by not having to move stuff betweenproduction, processing, packaging, bybiodigestion of organic waste, by thegeneration of heat, CO2 for greenhousesand electricity together to increase energyefficiency.

- Who pays? In the Netherlands it is thegovernment that kickstarts the initiative, thenprivate investors step in. But funds couldcome from elsewhere: could funds from theEU Common Agricultural Policy go into

optimizing agriculture system in this sense?

Integrating Agriculture in Urban Spatialand City Planninghosted by KathrynUnderwood, City of Detroit, USA andMarco van Steekelenburg, Province ofSouth Holland

- Importance of concepts of scale - 1) frameand grain 2) different levels

- MA lease: radius of 300 km with 3 millionpeople and 50 % land use in agriculture

- 70 regions qualify for an MA-rigorousanother 120 regions are exporting to MAregions

Q1: Urban vs Metropolitan Agriculture - focuson all 3 ps: next to planet also profit andpeople. Triple bottom line

Q2: High social component of urban ag inDetroit, profit comes in how: wit money forlarge scale greenhouses

Q3: urban ag and health: looking at cities athealthcare environments


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What Does the System Need?

After spending the first day and part of thesecond day "sensing the field", the facilitatorsposed this question to the participants. Workingin small groups, the answers included:

A unifying vision and SPACE; we see it asa big tree

To define the Metropolitan Agriculture concept;so that others will understand and buy in, seevalue of this work.

Food: for development of all options =experiments and mixing tradition and technology

Capital, knowledge and entrepreneurs for highproductivity growth in most suited areas to makeland available that should be turned into forest

Food that moves around the world and foodthat stays put

People who are conscious about foodand understanding of its culture in bothspace and time

Understanding that we need both big and small,with power and love

Marketing, branding and education to effectivelycommunicate the value of local food to people

To bridge the gaps between consumer andproducer (mental, spatial and distance)

Shared intention and scalable innovation

Increased awareness of the consumer andproducer so they make choices about ourfood system that balance social, ecologicaland economic capital.

To be inclusive and allow for variationsin approach to agriculture

Shared awareness that there are barriers thatcan be overcome by flexibility, creativity,passion, freedom and connection

Global connectivity to strengthen the diversityand best practice of local communities

Change consumers values though education,training and communication that allows

confidence and truth to emerge

Feedback loops starting with people first

Greater diversity of approaches and scales,consumer information about products, interactionamong stakeholders, appreciation of sharedgoals, open to innovative ideas.

Local and global optimism

Work, education, diversity, recreationand innovation

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Plenary Provocations

Florian Kroll (South Africa)

hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil(Yoda, Florians t-shirt)

Why does Johannesburg have a 95% failure rateof urban agriculture projects? Florian pointed tothe following reasons; people need roofs beforethey need food, so if there is a space the owner ismore likely to build a shed and rent it out thangrow food. Also, in city budgets the agriculturevoice does not come very high. Lastly, fundingcomes mainly from Corporate SocialResponsibility, so is often allocated according to PRmechanisms.

If we don't take care of food security we arethreatening the fabric of our society

How do we bring home what we saw here?

We might have the greatest ideas in theworld, but how do we communicate them inthe right way to the right people and at theright time to really make a change?

Florian pointed out that the risk of not addressingfood security was seen in 2008 during the food

riots.

He gave the example of Project Siakan byProfessor Michael Rudolph that runs healthpromotion; ecological health that has social andenvironmental effects.

In the policy framework, we need to include thetechnical capacity, consumers and networks toconnect people socially.

How do we adopt and translate what weve

seen here for our local context. How do weget in front of the right people at the righttime?

Kathryn Underwood (Detroit/Flint)

Kathryn spoke of a balancing act of issues andinterests, or building the bike and riding it at thesame time.

There is a lot of potential space for agriculture inand around Detroit, Kathryn preferred not to callthese spaces vacant land but open space.

She talked about the 1200 urban gardens orfarms, most of which are going under the radar of

the city regulation. The city has to grow as itexpands, and urban agriculture wasnt takenseriously until someone came in for $30 millioncity farm.There is a temporary versus permanent debate;many say Urban Agriculture should be temporaryuntil something better comes in.

Young educated African-Amercian hipsters withlow incomes have different visions for the sameneighborhood, which clash at times.

There are environmental and contamination issues

What is the economic benefit of UrbanAgriculture?

Decio Zylberstajn(So Paulo)

Why have we chosen to live in cities?

New Roles of Agriculture: food, fuel and fiber.We need organizational mechanisms forcooperation.

Global Trends - we have fading boundaries onmany fronts:- No more rural and urban; its now something inbetween.

- 1st, 2nd, and 3rd sector companies; fuzzyboundaries because NGOs are more likecompanies.

- We are detached from natural cycles.

- Eager for quantity not quality- demand for higherquantity.

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Open Space Marketplace

Here we asked what conversations needed tohappen now? What questions sparked interest?What did we need to hear more about? Whatcouldnt we leave without talking about?

Detroit/Flint Food Shed Group: Detroit/Flint: Whats Next?

Key Insights:

- Value in multiple perspectives on the work- People feel there is value in continuing with work

that has shared interest in the group- New, have a lot of work to do to figure out how

we function and develop a mutual respect on alllevels

- Challenges faced on multiple levels (local tointernational)- have the power & love in the group

Next Steps:

- Further policy and systems work- Determine common areas of focus- More structure, establish process, facilitation- Defined approach for working together- Asset mapping

What help or support might this group needfrom a global community?

- Harness the power, money and influence here atthe summit

- Having an additional systems training onfacilitation for w/in and w/out

- North Star reference; use this as our compass- Vehicle/mechanism to keep connections

Connectivity - Communication AboutLocal MetroAg Initiatives

Key Insights:

- People like parties, presents, fun, humour andfood: Use this to mobilise them

- Show practical examples of existing projects- Create a (crosscultural) strategic alliance to form

the promotion- Respect, dont sacrifice or compromise your

ethical credentials too much

Next Steps:

- Reflect and take a step back to decide- Digest all the new experiences

What help or support might this group needfrom a global/local community?

- Enthusiasm- Excitement- Experiential learning

Setting an Agenda for Capital Funding ofGlobal Metropolitan Agriculture.

Key Insights:

- Green projects make money- There is a need for funding innovative projects

outside normal banking models- The strength is in our team (Ekbai), TransForum

international, Advisory board- This is the next logical progression for

TransForum

Next steps:

- Convene electronically in next week to set thestage

- Convene electronically after that to frameinvestment agenda

- Set a deadline of march 30th for final draftproposal

- Work in conjunction with non-profit seed group -deadline is June 30th


- strength of advisory committee from TransForum- We will tap into database of existing Ekbai

network- Support will be needed to connect each country

to specific resources for specific collaboration

How To Use Wastelands In The City ForUrban Farming?

Wastelands have various themes, theres a lot ofthem, so try to make plans with owners for thebenefit of city-inhabitants.

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Key Insights

- Indian government giving seeds for free forrooftop farming.

- Every city has its own specific spaces,wastelands and city density

- Squatting is a good way to use a ground

- building a shet on greenhouse demandslegislation- See your own grown vegetables every week to

customers and combine this with other urbanfarmer harvests

- Could you grow vegetables on farmer waste-pileswhich are packed?

What are the next steps?

- Get grounds in use- Make a map of possible locations-

Squat if necessary or make a bigger scheduleplan with building companies that ownwastelands, social housing organisations or localgovernment.

- Make plans to profit from urban gardens, for thebenefit of the owner


-There is a website coming up from the EUfunded international workshop in Berlin (thisweek). This site will platform the urban farmingprojects throughout Europe. Filling the site wouldbe a great help!

How Do We Know What ConsumersWant?

Key Insights:

- Possibly big retailer wants to inform urbanfarmers on what people buy/eat

- group of farmers can organise open days/harvest feasts where agriculture = FUN. Then talkto urban people.

- Some quantitative market research is welcome- Website where producers and consumers can

debate- Farmers go to a shop and debate with consumers

Strategies for Metropolitan Agriculturein the Chennai Region of India

Key Insights:

- It is very important to take away risks forinvestors in Metropolitan Agriculture as adeveloper

- Co-invest with the first movers- Arrange permits- Involve current farmers actively - ask them for

their needs- Do a lot of marketing / publicity campaigning

How To Make A Business Win-Win-Win-

Win Between Producers, Distributors,Consumers and Nature?

Key Insights:- It is difficult to make producer-distributor-

convenor-nature come together

- How to define a fair price for consumer andproducer

Next steps:

- Find a way of communicating about fair/organic produce

What help pr support might this group needfrom a global community?

- Advice from experts

- financial support

Grantmaking Agencies

Key Insights:

- This sessions topic seems linked to Garys!- Grant makers/donors could support

Next Steps:

- TransForum International Advisory Board (1stOctober 2010)

- Set up a drafting team to draft a set of fundingproposals

- Seek seed funding for building a platform to

institutionalise the network capital (Innoversity)with a view to establishing a MetroAg agency


-Were building it! The willingness to belong to30 June 2011

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Role of Higher Education in SupportingMetropolitan Agriculture Movements

Key Insights:

- Focus on action learning (not traditionalresearch)

- Focus on communities of protection, but create astructure for doing so

- Mission-driven agenda - Science for society- Innovation-focused - exchange orientated =

training/access at multiple H.E. levels- Umbrella structures - hosting, dialogue, sharing,

conferencing, practice- Virtual

Next Steps:

- Seek international collaboration on key issues

affecting us back home- Explore own role in support of metro-ag- Define the innoversity principles, values,

approaches, success criteria- Establish a mission-driven agenda - society driven

agenda- Create interim government structure, inclusive of

X sector engagement- Create an organisational planning group - laying

out the network and implementation plan forevolving the future

- Create a final proposal

What help or support might you need from aglobal community?

- Time and resources for organizing the group towork

- Cities satisfy a minimum criteria for inclusivity/involvement - represented by a regional actionplan

Global To Local

Key Insights:

Well-designed:Intensification of agricultureal production in andnear cities can deliver co-benefits including localsocial benefits and global environmental benefits.

Balance:IntegrateAllocation of resources between artisanal andintensive Metro Ag.

Intense local productsOpportunity to use components of Metro Ag wherethey already exist near cities (waste, capital, heat,nturients workers knowledge

Next Steps:

Local redevelopment of a city centre vacant spaceRegial: delta/historical evolution of a fertilelandscape in a future with climate change.Global anaylysis: Send brief to CGIAR throughRudy (Marco)


Keep us informed of peers progress.- 1. Graham - seed funding- 2. Gary - capital funding for global metropolitan

agriculture. Collaborate in the next couple ofweeks. Put together draft platform. Greenprojects should be able to make money.

- 3. Silvio - how to make a business win, win, win.Process so interesting of how people have joined

me in my business because people have believedit is possible. It is difficult to get producer-consumer together. Educate the consumer. Howto define a fair price for consumer and producer.

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Afternoon Plenary

Given all of this, what is needed in our cities?What will help us sustain our food andagricultural systems? What outcomes are wetrying to create? What would support these

outcomes? What do we need from each other tohelp us do what is needed of us all?

Rebecca Freeth interviewsSander Mager

As the final afternoon of the Summit drew to aclose, Rebecca Freeth, one of the facilitators,briefly interviewed Sander Mager from

TransForum. Sander was one of the initiatorsand primary movers of this project.

Q: TransForum is a finite project.What does that mean?

A: Its role was to be a change agent, and it is agood thing for a change agent not toinstitutionalize itself. There are a lot of people witha lot of personal commitment, who are willing totake this further.

Q: What struck you most during this summit?

A: People talk in a completely different way thenwhen we started; re-framing has happened.Tensions were replaced from either/or to and/and.Should we come up with a definition for MetroAg?Definitions create boundaries but we say we wantto cross boundaries. The biggest mistake can be totry and create something huge; what we need ishigh ambitions and taking the first next step.

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Dinner and Summit Closing

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METROPOLITANAGRICULTURE


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METROPOLITAN AGRICULTURE:MOVING TOWARD SHARED UNDERSTANDING

Vanessa SayersReos Partners, JohannesburgOctober 22, 2010

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Genesis of the Concept

The current working concept of Metropolitan Agriculture has emerged from TransForums five yearsof experimentation in the Netherlands and internationally, supplemented by academic research workundertaken by Jeff Stottlemyer of Reos Partners. The idea has therefore been developed within a particular

set of contexts.

Over the last year, as stakeholders from six cities have worked with MetroAg, some challengeshave emerged. For example:

- In some places, practitioners found it difficult to differentiate MetroAg from the much more widely knownpractice of Urban Ag, while in other locations people thought it simply entailed very highly productiveand large-scale forms of agriculture.

- The breadth of the existing MetroAg concept (e.g., that it addresses various issues related to productionand as such might include many different forms of agricultural enterprise) led to varying interpretationsand emphases as well as some lack of clarity about what falls in and what falls out of the umbrella.

- Different localized understandings of particular words (e.g., Metropolitan) meant that the conceptwas not always understood as intended.

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Purpose of this Report

These issues remained relevant coming into the 1st Global Summit in Rotterdam. Subsequent to the Summit,the team working to take MetroAg into its next stage decided that it would be valuable to interview eightcore stakeholders from the cities of Johannesburg, Sao Paulo, London, Chennai, Amsterdam and Detroit/Flint about the concept, with the intention of:

- Getting a sense of peoples current understanding of the MetroAg concept

- Assessing whether this understanding had become clearer or better aligned to some of the core aspects ofthe concept as it has been described to date

- Identifying areas where there is clarity and alignment and trying to draw these together-

- Identifying areas where there is divergence that could benefit from further work

- Seeing how open people are to having their current understanding shift through further engagement.

This brief report draws on the existing conceptual work and the views of the eight stakeholders interviewed

to address these aims. Additional input and quotations have been added from a ninth TransForumrespondent.

The interviewers asked the stakeholders three basic questions (some of which were developed further inconversation to draw out more explanation):

- What is your current understanding of the MetroAg concept?

- To what degree has that understanding evolved since you started work on MetroAg?

- To what degree are you open to its continued evolution?

What Are We Talking About?In the interviews, some people tended to talk about MetroAg as the set of activities already happening inthe cities (workshops, networking, etc.) and the intended results; thus, these people were already implicitlyfocusing on the social innovation aspect of the process. Others stayed focused on intended results; that ispeople working on projects together on the ground that embody the MetroAg approach. This duality wasreflected in the interviews, with some people talking about new ways of working together, some talkingabout new ways of thinking, and some talking about both.

A New Way of Working Together

Here are some of the comments made by interviewees that reflect a view of MetroAg that involves a new

way of working together:

The first thing in my understanding is that itsrelated to methodologies that involve participation,inclusion of all social gr

Documents

1st Global Summit On Metropolitan Agriculture: Summit Report