The document discusses local and regional food systems as an alternative to the current industrial food system. It outlines some of the drawbacks of the industrial system, including the large distance between producers and consumers and loss of biodiversity. Local food systems aim to reconnect producers and consumers while ensuring food security, fair prices, and environmental sustainability. The document provides examples of local food systems in the Netherlands and Russia. It also presents a classification system for different types of food systems based on their geographic scope and governance structures. Finally, it discusses knowledge and innovation needs for sustainable food security, including developing local production and processing methods as well as cooperation across different levels of governance.

1. The role of innovation processes in
Local Food for Global Future
Presentation at the
meeting of the Standing
Committee on Agricultural
Research of the EU
Harry Donkers
6 October 2015

2. Headlines
Industrial and local food systems
• Drawbacks of the current industrial system of agriculture and food
• A paradigm shift: sustainable food security
• Potential of local and regional food systems
Practical examples in The Netherlands and in Russia
• Vechtdal Food Community (The Netherlands) and Family farming
(Russia)
Structured approach
• Classification of local and regional food systems
• Governance for local and regional food systems
Knowledge and innovation
• Knowledge development and innovation for sustainable food security

3. Large distance between producers and
consumers
Up-scaling leads to an exodus of smaller
farmers
Entrepreneurs become employees
Loss of awareness of food quality
Use of chemical fertilizers and herbicides
Loss of biodiversity
Oligopolistic competition: worldwide and
nationwide
Mega-farms, industrial processing
Food products treated as commodities
No fair prices for farmers
Far removed
Mono
Mega Global
Cheap and poor quality basic food commodities, ‘enriched’ by the processing industry
Hunger on the one hand and obesity on the other hand
Current industrial system

4. People
Profit
Planet
Sover-
eignty
Safety
Embeddedness
Fair prices
Biodiversity
and climate
Health
Right to food and right to
food production
Sustainability
(Brundtland)
Food security
(Shiva)
The paradigm of sustainable food security

5. Reconnecting producers and consumers
(people and nature)
Control of local food production and
consumption
Access to sufficient food
Fair prices
Local/regional production
Micro machinery and
small scale processing
Food is not seen as a
commodity
Access to
the
countryside
Biodiversity
Right to food and right to
food production
Local/regional production
ensures access to food for
all people in the region
Awareness of
food impact on
health and well-
being
Proximity
Micro/Regional
Multi
Access for all
Nutritional
Local and regional agriculture and food systems

6. The industrial and local trap in
solving the world food problem
Industrial system
Solving the world food problem needs
more volumes of production
Do the increased volumes reach the poor?
Local system
Solving the world food problem is
equivalent to the paradigm of Sustainable
food security that implies a local focus
Do the local systems meet the features of
the paradigm?
Defends: Claims:
Industrial trap Local trap

7. Recommendations: Bottom-up regional initiatives; Profiling agriculture in spatial debate; Develop added
value; Farming with nature / landscape and recreation / tourism and hospitality industry; Develop specific
regional research and policy; Encourage regional branding
Crop growers:
Arable farmers
Horticulture
Nature organizations
Hotels/Rest./Catering
Processors/shops
Animal
farmers
Products for self
cooking
Animal contacts
Landscape:
Grain fields
Crop growing
Horticultural
products
Outdoor eating
R
e
c
r
e
a
t
i
o
n
e
m
p
l
o
y
e
r
s
producers
consumers
tourists
arrangement
arrangement
arrangement
Vechtdal Food Community

8. Organic/natural food chain in Krasnodar, 2012
Chain partners:
– Producers, small farmers
– Organic shop
– Catering
– Internet shop
– Cafetaria
– Restaurant
Support needed:
– Facilitate lead farms to
demonstrate successes
and to serve as a model
farm for small farmer
– Better knowledge and
training for better quality
– Better mutual co-
operation
– Possibilities to invest

9. Geographic aspects: City regions

10. Short chain
cooperation
P = Producers
Local (rural, urban)
cooperation
C = Consumers
C
P
National/Interregional
cooperation
O = Government
O
Global/Transregional
cooperation
Cooperation aspects: Local and regional cooperation
P
C
P PC
OO
CC
Regional
cooperation
P
O

11. Classification of food systems

12. Food
systems
Examples Governance
Short
chains
Aiming at a better cooperation between
consumers and producers
Local Urban
Rural
Policy support to reduce the rural-urban divide
Regional Metropolitan
Cityside
Corridor
Connected cities
Conurbation
Countryside
Joint development (producers, consumers and
local governments) of regional food systems
Building regional food strategies
Cooperation is a critical success factor
Inter-
regional
Cooperating Regional
initiatives
Supporting regional food systems in solving the
region transcending problems
National governments have a key role
Trans-
regional
Border regions
Regions that are not
adjacent to each other
Policymaking bodies
and movements
Promoting cooperation between food systems in
different countries, twinning
Handling confrontations between international
established institutions and societal movements
Mitigating the power of monopolistic/oligopolistic
competition

13. Building Food Building a more
Strategies equitable world
From government From one-
to governance dimensional flow
to dialogue
Application areas of sustainable food security
Implementation of knowledge and innovation
Policy and Aid
Basic
disciplines
Local
production
and
processing
Social
sciences
Ecological
sciences
Economics
Food
sciencesTechnology and
Organization
Social
From far
away to
nearby
Economic
From global
to local
Ecological
From mono
to multi
Sovereignty
Right and
access to
food
Safety
Building
resistance
Holistic approach
Knowledge Innovation ICT Financial Logistics
management methods
From From
mega hierarchy to
to micro community
Creative Reciprocal
moderation solidarism

14. Knowledge issues/Application areas

15. Science issues/basic and aspect disciplines
Basic disciplines Elementary disciplines
Aspect
discipli
nes
Ecology and
environmental
sciences
Soil: All biomass needed for soil fertility, no biofuels
Landscape and nature: Rehabilitate large-scale damaged
ecosystems
Climate:. Focus on low latitude regions with most problems;
helping ‘The Great Wall’ with fertile lands marching up north
Local production
and processing
On-farm impact: Small-scale processing
Local and regional impact: Rural employment and livelihoods
Food science
(health and
nutrition, safety
and gastronomy
Health and nutrition: Relationships local food and health
Safety: Building resistance in stead of monocultures under
sanitary control
Gastronomy: Study of flavour and taste
Soci(et)al
sciences
Social nearness: How social is a system?
Trust: Basic element of cooperation
Food sovereignty: No unwanted interference from outside
Economics Micro: Creating value added at the farm
Meso: Farm participation in local and regional economy
Macro: Absence of free competition disturbs food sovereignty

16. Individual skills
flourishing
culture
Collective capacities
inspiring creativity
Renewal Control Competition Cooperation
Capabilities of the self
with an eye on room for
the other
Competences of the
other with an eye on
room for the self
Technology and organisation
1. Creative moderation
OrganizationTechnology
2. Equipment and precision technology
3. Energy sources
4. Animal and plant breeding technologies
5. Alternative farming systems
6. Technologies for on-farm value added
7. Nanotechnology
8. Biotechnology
9. Technology assessment
1. Reciprocal solidarism
2. Organization of production, processing
and marketing at farm level
3. Network cooperation and communities
4. Increasing regional capacities

17. Policy and aid
AidPolicy
1. Policy objectives: awareness, health,
safety, product quality, animal welfare,
environment, inclusion of food
sovereignty and food safety, conditions
for free competition, etc.
2. Regional food strategies: Governance
bodies sitting together developing a
plan to achieve the goals in a regional
setting.
3. Ensuring ‘real’ free competition.
1. Building cooperation, enhancing a
professional dialogue between local
farmer and knowledge workers.
2. View knowledge production, sharing
and dissemination as a two-way
traffic.
3. Assist countries to identify and
develop their own human resources
and capacities.

18. Implementation of knowledge and innovation
Knowledge management
1. Bundling interests
2. Stimulating multifunctional developments
3. Embedding knowledge
4. Maintaining regional, inter- and transregional contacts
5. Develop local, regional and supra-regional agendas,
Innovation methods
Various methods, ‘Open innovation’, Out-of-the-box thinking
ICT
1. Web-sites and social media
2. On-line available scientific information.
3. Special web sites, platforms
Financial
1. New financing forms and techniques
2. Other ownership relations
Logistics
1. Logistics services to achieve: small-scale local logistics
2. Food hubs.