Het artikel Cisgenesis: an important sub-invention for traditional plant breeding companies van prof.dr.ir. Evert Jacobsen, Wetenschappelijk directeur van TransForum en dr. Henk Schouten (WUR) is gepubliceerd in het blad Euphytica.
Project 'Self-organisation in innovation networks'
Arising out of the scientific project ‘Self-organisation in innovation networks’ of Laurens Klerkx (WUR), an article was published last month in Syscope. On the basis of the practical project The Golden Egg, the article describes critical design factors that can help motivate pioneers to put innovations into practice. In this project it turned out to be important for there to be a visualisation of the innovative design (in this case the hen-keeping system Rondeel), whereby the design must strike a balance between innovative and recognisable elements and must reconcile the requirements of the animal, farmer, citizen and the environment. Another important factor for inspiring pioneers is for the practical initiative to receive support from the government and scientific community and the process-coaching world. A scientific article on Laurens Klerkx’s project is also in preparation concerning the various strategies that agencies have for dealing with institutions and the regulations so as to promote innovation.Click innovatieve_veehouderijconcepten_als_inspiratiebron-syscope_aug_2009 in order to read the article in Syscope. See also www.syscope.nl
Article about TransForum’s approach attracts interest
Wednesday July 1, 2009
Article about TransForum’s approach attracts interest The article published by TransForum last year in Agronomy for Sustainable Development concerning the approach towards encouraging transitions is frequently read: in the first half of 2009 no fewer than 175 times. This put it in third place in the league table of the most frequently downloaded Agronomy articles. The article may be found on www.agronomy-journal.org/ via DOI no 10.1051/agro:2008022 and on the website under Publications/Scientific programme general.
The water managment is a good alternative for water storage
In the water management concept, water in a cascade continually performs new functions, with each function adding value for a region, agriculture or another industry. An example has been elaborated for a hypothetical region, with a link being outlined between water storage, recreation, agriculture, nature development, industrial process water, urban water, water purification and algae cultivation. The existence of a beckoning prospect of the future is just one precondition for the realisation of such innovations. The innovative TransForum projects have demonstrated that a realistic business case is just as important. This requires entrepreneurs, investors and government authorities all to put their shoulders behind the development and realisation of the business case in question. With regard to the water management project we have been obliged to conclude that climate change is not (yet) so high on the agenda of these parties that they are prepared to take the lead in the development of such a business case. This means that TransForum will not be continuing with the project development for the time being. The water management concept has however shifted to North Brabant, where Telos, together with water boards, the province and others, is to explore the new forms of value creation for water. The Innovation Network and Aequator will also continue to explore the feasibility of ‘water management’. It may be that the concept is picked up by local players in the near future. See also: Publicaties/Praktijkprojecten/Conceptwijzer Waterhouderij.
That a sustainable supermarket formula is possible has been demonstrated by Super de Boer in the Sustainability in Retailing project. That it also requires a lengthy and intensive process is something of which Anne-Claire van Altvorst is aware. Together with Astrid van Kleef she wrote an article on the subject which appeared in the Financieel Dagblad on 6 April. Click on duurzaam_in_retail_in_fd_060409_pdf and see also: http://www.fd.nl/home/
The big American photosite iStock has made the cover of our annual report designed by Rémi de Ligny of Creja Ontwerpen its Design of the Week. The cover provides a representation of what sustainable agriculture can mean. We are proud of this award, and once again congratulate Rémi!
The Director of European Regional Affairs Consultants (ERAC), Mayko Slinkman, referred to the 100-plus people who had taken their seats in the upper room of Winkel van Sinkel as spirited. Spirited because they had managed to ignore the dozens of enticing terraces and the radiant sunshine bathing the inner city of Utrecht in order to take part in the Agribusiness Clusters symposium organised by TransForum, Radboud University and ERAC. The participants listened to introductions concerning Biopark Terneuzen, Betuwse Bloem and Greenport Venlo, and saw former minister Cees Veerman receive the first copy of the book Agribusiness Clusters from Professor Frans Boekema. Veerman considered that the concise contributions went to the heart of the matter: the driving forces behind the biobased economy are the industrialisation of agricultural production and sustainability. Dirk Strijker (RU Groningen) then chaired a brief but sparkling debate in which he succeeded in obtaining expressions of support from Herman van Ham (ZLTO) and Roel Bol (LNV) for the biobased economy, both financially and organisationally and at legislative level. A more detailed report of the symposium will appear shortly on this website.
Johan Bouma, chairman of the TransForum Advisory Board, has taken part on behalf of TransForum in the multi-stakeholder dialogue ‘Attracting and retaining youth in farming’, organised by the Swaminathan Foundation in India. The dialogue was set up from the particular perspective of small farmers in India. Johan introduced the vision of Metropolitan Agriculture, under which the potential for sales is explored in terms of the urban requirement for high-quality food. The combination of both perspectives gives rise to innovation. Peter Smeets and Madeleine van Mansveld (WUR) provided an interesting presentation on agroparks. An article on the conference was published in the Indian newspaper The Hindu.
Meiny Prins, the director of Priva and member of the TransForum Board of Governors, was voted the day before yesterday as “Businesswoman of the year 2009”. This was reported by DeGroentenFruit.nl. Prins was personally awarded the Prix Veuve Clicquot 2009 by European Commissioner Neelie Kroes. Annemarie Jorritsma, chairperson of the jury, praised Meiny Prins for her successful entrepreneurship and the fact that her business placed particular emphasis on sustainability. Priva is active in climate control and process automation in glass horticulture and the buildings market. Priva regards it as its duty and responsibility to deal exceptionally carefully with resources, nature and the environment. Innovation with a view to sustainability is high on the company's agenda.
Together with Alterra, TransForum will be hosting a workshop on Metropolitan Agriculture at the forthcoming IAMA conference from 20 to 23 June. Details on the conference are provided in the IAMA Chain letter, which includes an article by Sander Mager on Metropolitan Agriculture. Click on iama_chain_letter in order to read the Chain letter.
Sustainability in Retailing generates business model
One of the most tangible results of the TransForum project Sustainability in Retailing is a business model under which Super de Boer will be carrying a more sustainable range of products.Together with suppliers, non-governmental organisations and knowledge institutes, research has been carried out and new forms of cooperation entered into in order to achieve this in relation to fresh produce.
Een van de resultaten van het TransForum project Duurzaam in Retail is een duurzamer visassortiment bij Super de Boer. Hoe het zo ver gekomen is, vertellen Caspar Woolthuis, manager kwaliteit en duurzaamheid van Super de Boer en Anne-Claire van Altvorst, projectregisseur van TransForum, in een artikel in VMT. Klik duurzaam_in_retail_in_vmt voor het artikel.
Bron: VMT, nr 4, 13 februari 2009. Zie ook www.vmt.nl
TransForum has their own blogspot on the Internet, where we talk about concerning durable agriculture and our experiences with working for transition we want to share a more sustainable development in the agriculture sector. You can find the blogspot on http://duurzamelandbouw-transforum.blogspot.com/
This page is to be translated soon. Here is the original Dutch text: De discussie over wat nodig is om geconditioneerd telen naar een volgende fase te brengen, is actueel. Het project waarin de aanzet hiervoor gegeven is, SynErgie, gaat verder onder Kas als Energiebron. Na afronding van de fase waarin TransForum meehielp het platform van ondernemers en onderzoekers op te zetten, ligt nu de vraag op tafel wat de rol van overheid en maatschappelijke partijen kan zijn. Agrarisch Dagblad schreef erover op 4 februari. financiering_upscaling_nav_synergie_agd_040209
This page is to be translated soon. Here is the original Dutch text: Met daarin het verslag over de cisgenese bijeenkomst van november, nieuwe TransForum projecten én de kennismaking van Premier Balkenende met Greenport Shanghai. Klik op transforum_nieuwsbrief_nr12 om de nieuwsbrief te openen.
Professor Jelte Rozema,
project-leader of the TransForum Brackish Agriculture project, emphasises the
importance of salt-tolerant agricultural crops in the journal Science. Rozema's
research forms part of the TransForum ‘Brackish Agriculture' project on the island of Texel. Due to the rise in sea-levels and
subsidence, the Dutch Delta region will be confronted in the coming years by
the seepage of brackish water. Agricultural areas along the coast will be faced
with the choice of using more (scarce) freshwater and costly investments in
water projects in order to counter silting up or alternatively adjusting by
switching to the cultivation of salt-tolerant agricultural crops. In terms of
its focus on‘Sustainable Delta Agriculture',
TransForum regards this as a relevant question and is therefore participating
in a project on Texel in which the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, in partnership
with a Texel entrepreneur, is trying out and marketing new ‘brackish crops'.
Sea cabbage is the first crop to have been marketed successfully. In this
project, PRI/Wageningen-UR will be concentrating over the next year on the
question as to how Dutch food production should be organised within the
increasingly brackish delta region.
Henk van Latesteijn at Royal Holland Society of Sciences and Humanities conference
On 15 November Henk van Latesteijn spoke at the ‘China - Opportunities for
the Netherlands' conference organised by the Jonge Maatschappij (Youth Society) of the Royal Holland Society of
Sciences and Humanities. Henk spoke about how TransForum is linking up the
scientific knowledge in Wageningen with the Greenport Shanghai project. A clip
of his address may be seen on
The
meeting organised by TransForum at the Nieuwspoort news centre on 17 November
has helped get the debate concerning the genetic modification of agricultural
crops off to a cautious start. The situation faced by Dutch apple-growers, who
have to contend with the combination of governmental regulations and large
companies with much greater financial resources, is behind the search for new
opportunities.
To date research into
animal welfare has concentrated largely on citizens, retailers and livestock
holders. However, in the case of chain players such as the trade, processing
industry and brand manufacturers (e.g. of household products) very little is
known about the extent to which animal welfare is on the agenda and what drives
these companies to emphasise or neglect this subject. For this reason the LEI
in collaboration with Wageningen
University and TransForum
is conducting research into animal welfare in the chain. This concerns the TransForum
project ‘Understanding company-level marketing strategies for
sustainability‘.
Insight into what motivates these companies is important as they play a key
role in the interaction between farmer and supermarket. Companies forming part
of the target group will be telephoned shortly by LEI staff about participating
in this survey. Participating companies will receive a brief report on the
results of the research.
As became clear at the
meeting organised by TransForum on the public acceptance of cisgenesis,
overcoming the impasse concerning this subject is not straightforward. What is
regarded as highly important is to ensure that the client knows what you are
working on. The Agrarisch Dagbladnewspaper was present.
‘Cooperating
with other sectors' is the buzzword for the agricultural sector. Ten years ago
nobody had foreseen this, says Henk
van Latesteijn looking ahead to
the Day of the Future.
It is hardly an everyday
occurrence to find a mobile milk robot with a replica cow in the front garden of Papendal, or for maggot cake or sheep's
ice cream to be served indoors. This however was the case on the Day of the
Future. Over 500 entrepreneurs as well as policymakers, researchers, students,
project supervisors and last but not least Minister Gerda Verburg
were there and experienced what was on offer. The lectures by Guus Broos, Pierre Sommer, Paul Baan and Marijke van
Haaren were extremely well attended, while the
project presentations were also lively affairs. Minister
Verburg chatted with almost every ‘stallholder',
which was greatly appreciated. In short a highly successful day. Go to http://www.dagvandetoekomst.nl/ for
more photos. A more detailed report follows.
Below: Minister Verburg talks with Ruud Zanders and Johan Vermeulen
about the Roundel/The Golden Egg.
This page is to be translated soon. Here is the original Dutch text: Dat is de conclusie van dierenactivist Wouter van Eck na een discussie met Peter Smeets. Het tijdschrift Landwerk doet er verslag van in liever_groot_agropark_dan_overal_megastallen
Study on North Friesian Woods in Advances in Agronomy
The hydrological research
in the North Friesian Woods that formed part of the 3MG project has been
included in a publication in the authoritative American research literature
series Advances in Agronomy.
In the
newsletter you will find the latest news on Greenport Shanghai, the way in
which Metropolitan Agriculture is taking shape in our projects and interviews
with our new colleagues Valesca and Karin.
Click on transforum_nieuwsbrief_nr11.
The other newsletters may be found under Publications/Newsletters.
On Saturday
25 October, project-director Peter
Smeets took part in the TROS
Nieuwsshow radio programme, in which he explained why agroparks are a better
alternative to large-scale cattle sheds or ‘mega stalls'.This was a good interview in which the
arguments emerged clearly. The programme may be listened to again on www.radio1.nl/podcast.
Anne Hoes (Athena Institute VU Amsterdam) has published
an article concerning the cooperation between scientists and entrepreneurs in
the practical projects New Mixed Farm, Synergy and Biopark Ghent-Terneuzen: ‘TransFormers
in knowledge production: building science-practice collaborations'.
The book Knowledge Management and Innovation in Networks,
which arose out of the Knowledge Management of Agrifood Networks project, was
published recently. It was edited by project-leader Ard-Pieter de Man (VU
Amsterdam).
This page is to be translated soon. Here is the original Dutch text:
In de TransForum projecten 'Nieuwe markten, vitale coalities' en 'Ons ZuidLimburgs Land' is medisch en zorgconcern Orbis de trekker. Orbis werkt hard aan integrated care communities zoals Parc Hoogveld in Sittard. De aanpak is te vergelijken met wat Marqt doet met zijn supermarkten in Amsterdam en Haarlem. Een artikel hierover verscheen in Financieel Dagblad van 22 september.oud_en_actief_in_sittard_-_fd220908
This page is to be translated soon. Here is the original Dutch text:
Durven experimenteren, durven veranderen en leren experimenteren, zo vat Henk van Latesteijn de methode van TransForum samen in een interview in Agrarisch Dagblad op 16 april. interview_henk_in_agdb_160408
This page is to be translated soon. Here is the original Dutch text: Boeren en tuinders kunnen een veel betere prijs krijgen voor hun waar, stellen Anne-Claire van Altvorst en Jaap Hoek Spaans. Marqt hanteert daarvoor een nieuwe organisatievorm die allerlei tussenschakels uit de keten haalt. Het opinie-artikel stond op 30 mei in Agrarisch Dagblad. marges_boeren_bij_marqt_in_agd_300508
This page is to be translated soon. Here is the original Dutch text: Regio's als Zeeland en West-Brabant zijn uitstekend geschikt voor agroparken, vindt Peter Smeets. Die zijn perfect qua logistieke mogelijkheden en de beschikbaarheid van land en zonlicht. Dit artikel stond op 4 juni in Agrarisch Dagblad.opinie_agroparken_in_agd_040608
This page is to be translated soon. Here is the original Dutch text: De voedselproductie zal radicaal anders moeten, om de groeiende wereldbevolking te blijven voeden. Metropolitan Agriculture is een manier van werken en ontwikkelen die hierop een antwoord kan zijn. Henk van Latesteijn schreef hierover een artikel in Groenten en Fruit. opinie_van_latesteijn_groentenfruit_1_aug_08
The TransForum FloriLog
project has been completed. Solid partnership arrangements have been set up
among auction-houses, traders and interest groups. These will now jointly
develop plans for trade parks in Germany, which will be designed to
safeguard the coordinating role of the Dutch pot plant industry. Project-leader
Frank Engelbart provide an account in the August
issue of the Groothandelsblad. florilog_in_grhblad_aug_08
Nieuws 
