Knowledge exchange, innovation and the promotion of more environmentally-sustainable agriculture in...
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Knowledge exchange, innovation and the promotion of more
environmentally-sustainable agriculture in Europe
Janet Dwyer CCRI
University of Gloucestershire, UK
Outline
• Challenges for EU agriculture and
rural areas
• Implications for rural actions and
resources
• Innovation – what, where and how?
– ideas for further research
• Increasing fossil fuel prices – higher global demand, lower / more costly / less secure supplies
• Growing global food demand
• Climate change - pressures north and south from temperature and rainfall shifts
• Demographic change – shrinking workforce, pressure in south
• Continuing austerity in public finances –reduced financing for CAP and Regions?
Challenges for EU agriculture &
rural areas
highest negativeimpact
medium negative impact
low negative impactno/marginal impactlow positive impact
.No data*
reduced data*ESPON CLIMATE study
Vulnerability
to climate
change of EU
regions
Population Change
2000-2007
Annual Average
Change per 1000
inhabitants
- < -6.0 (193)
- -6.0 - -3.0 (154)
- -3.0 - 0.0 (226)
- 0.0 - 3.0 (300)
- 3.0 - 6.0 (249)
- > 6.0 (341)
- no data
Source: DEMIFER project,
annex of maps: ESPON
2012
These trends are set to continue,
placing pressure on many poorer
and some water-stressed regions
Implications for rural activities &
resources
• EU agriculture must become much more
resource-efficient: using fewer non-
renewable inputs, conserving soil and water,
and reducing or eliminating wastes
• The multifunctionality of
rural spaces must be
maintained and
increased, embracing
energy generation and
non-food products plus
sustained use for leisure
and food production
• Ecosystem services
need more attention and
long-term planning
‘Innovation’ – What?
Means thinking or doing something
perceived as quite new (in that
context):
• Technological change
• New knowledge
• New ways of working
• New (farming) systems
• New ways of doing policy
• New institutional arrangements
Innovation – Why?• To transform farm-level knowledge
about best management strategies and sustainability planning
• To raise standards of practice on farms, achieving a ‘step-change’ in approach
• To develop new businesses / sub-sectors and successfully exploit market opportunities based upon sustainable resource management
• To test and learn from the experience of successful pioneers
How best to promote
innovation?It is not possible to force people to innovate,
BUT
there is much evidence of the value of fostering and promoting a climate in which
innovation is encouraged
KEY ingredients*:
• Stronger research-practice linkages
• Communities of learning: advice, training and information (awareness-raising)
• New networking and collaborative action
*EP-funded study on sustainable competitiveness and innovation. 2012
Examples – research-practice
linkages• Lower Saxony: regional government has joint
research and investment programmes with local manufacturing and chemical industries to develop novel crops and new products, working with farmer organisations
• England: government-funded research programmes encourage scientists to work with groups of farmers, in ‘adaptive co-learning’ to understand soil quality and hydrological cycles, and plan for climate change (increased severity of flooding)
• The expanding IFM community is innovating and sharing good practice across the EU
Examples – training, advice &
informationThere is little point forcing people to take advice: make it attractive, enjoyable and accessible
• Dedicated ‘filière’ programmes (Italy, France, Germany) often led by processors, use a tailored package = training, advice, consumer information to scale-up supply chains and increase producer viability
• Farmer-led ‘hubs’ (Wales) encourage members to identify and pursue training and information needs, with peer support and access to funds
• LEADER Action Groups fund visits and exchanges - these have stimulated farmer demand for knowledge
Lessons and examples – innovative
networks & collaboration• Bridging social capital is a key element in
micro-regional development: mixing skills,
knowledge and experience - external facilitators
may be needed (evidence: EDORA project)
• Agri-environment co-operatives, Netherlands
offer environmental gains via more flexible
approaches, designed by farmers themselves
• Integrated territorial programmes in Southern
Italy show the value of multi-actor planning and
delivery partnerships, involving a WIDE range of
regional interests
Innovation: How?
Enabling policy is vital
- consider the plumber…
• We need smarter working with multiple goals,
integrated planning & delivery
• We need to control and reduce the weight of
controls and bureaucracy – make policies
closer to beneficiary, more flexible
• ‘Better targeting’ does not have to mean more
constraints, higher costs!
2 models from industry, worth
further research?• BPR – ‘business process re-engineering’,
analysing processes to enable simplification, with a strong focus upon the experiences of all actors in the delivery chain
• Lean Systems and Systems thinking – to enable a move away from ‘one size fits all’ approaches, to programmes which enable tailored solutions for each individual situation, without leading to excessive bureaucracy or high costs
Thank you!