Farming differently: opportunities for short chains and new revenue models

It was a well-attended meeting with more than 80 entrepreneurs (including about 30 agricultural entrepreneurs) and others interested in short chains and new earning models for the agro-food sector. Themes such as respect, new appreciation, new chain cooperation, healthy soil, healthy crop, healthy people, cooperatives and chain directors were discussed.

Ron Mulders talked about the urgency, cause and possible new chain organization. His presentation gave a good overview of the causes of the problems we are facing. This insight helps in the search for solutions. A solution could be to no longer sell your products anonymously, but for example via the online marketplace Pommeron.

Download here the presentation Anders Boeren by Ron Mulders

Marcel Jacobs followed up on this with his story, telling how he made the switch from 100 ha of leeks, to 6 ha with 60 types of vegetables. He now delivers his products to the consumer via local takeaway points. This short chain has many advantages, not only for the price, but also for the contact with the buyer, the consumer. This generated many questions from the audience. What were difficult moments? What does Marcel still dream of? Marcel says that he first realized: this can't go on and then dared to do things differently. After that it was mainly about persevering and gradually noticing that you are on the right track. That gives strength to continue. He dreams of more People's Farms in Limburg, so that a network is created in which you can share the marketing costs together and work locally, fitting in with the local consumer need.

Download Marcel Jacobs' presentation here

During the workshops the question was addressed: How do you start working with a new revenue model?

Workshop Marketing by Bluehub

When you opt for a new revenue model, it brings a lot of marketing issues.
Who exactly is my target group? How do I reach them? But also: what makes my company really distinctive? Why does a customer choose me
and how do I ensure that? and how do I ensure this? During the workshop Marketing, the marketing and business development agency Bluehub gave concrete tools to get started with this.

Workshop Finance by LIOF Agrofood and Rabobank

LIOF Agrofood is the counter for Agrofood entrepreneurs with innovative ideas who
are looking for knowledge and capital. are looking for knowledge and capital. During this workshop, they shared tips and answered questions about access to knowledge and financial questions.

Workshop Marketing by LOF and Pommeron

LOF is a large partnership in Limburg that is committed to organizing healthy and
sustainable local marketing, starting with local care institutions. Pommeron is a platform for entrepreneurs which makes it easier to deliver locally, e.g. to the catering industry.
In the first part of the workshop, participants mainly exchanged ideas about new products and services. The themes were: organic, healthy, tasty and local. Essential: a good product needs a good story.

One of the participants saw a lot of potential in the cooperation between farmers, horticulturists and catering entrepreneurs. At the same time: the lion's share of our daily food is still bought from the big retailers (AH, Jumbo, ALDI and LIDL). When asked, the participants said that they themselves also buy mainly from retailers - online and offline. One of the participants said that there are also opportunities for producers, as long as they focus on the demand of the customer (retail). He himself supplies blueberries all year round to several retailers with a good story: from the Netherlands if possible, but from elsewhere if not. But always of good quality.
So the challenge seems to be: as a producer to make the rough draft of a real story, then to look for customers who value that story and then: to literally 'make that story valuable' together.

On the sales side, opportunities were seen in schools as a logistics point. On the one hand, to focus on the education of the youth. But at the same time, deploy a kind of Hello Fresh where all parents, when they pick up their children, immediately receive a crate of fresh vegetables and perhaps even let their children talk about it again. This approach is innovative and would be a good solution to overcome logistical challenges, as schools are everywhere. One sprout farmer told us that for years he gave away baby sprouts for free because they are hard to keep, but very tasty. Now he has built up a loyal band of customers, who come to him especially for the baby sprouts and immediately buy more things from him.

The link to sales to companies and organizations was less alive among the participants, not so much because they do not see the potential, but because it seems so complicated to them. When the picture was shown of the healthcare institutions that had already joined in, enthusiasm and interest rose immediately. There is still a lot of profit to be made here.

Download Pommeron's presentation Sales

Collaboration by Belgian partnership, Short Chains Taskforce and the Food Different Caravan

Nationally and in the Euregion several parties are working on local food and short chains. During this workshop experts from experience tell how they have approached the cooperation in their region and what the advantages of this cooperation are.
Paul Geurts and Dieuwertje Crasborn started to explain about the organization food else, which is committed to sustainable and fair food and farming systems. The Food caravan travels throughout the Netherlands to create attention for this topic in different regions. On 27 October the caravan will visit South-East Brabant and North Limburg, starting in Venlo. Dieuwertje also told something about the Quick Scan for producers, where a kind of spider web analysis can be made that clearly shows what a producer contributes in the field of: Healthy food, sustainable living, creativity, social bonding/engagement, inquiry-based learning, experiencing nature. She also explained LocalHieros.

Bart Kraaijvanger of the ZLTO and of the Short Chain Coalition explained the national Short Chain Taskforce, which aims to remove the most important obstacles in the next four years, so that power in the food chain is shared more equally. This will enable initiatives to scale up and jointly achieve greater impact. Through this development, farmer and citizen are closer together and a better earnings model for the farmer has been developed. They do this by connecting, developing and educating and through a gamification model.

Jan Noelmans, from the Agriculture and Rural Affairs department of the Province of Limburg in Belgium
told about how the Short Chain, next to Green Care, Hoevetourism, Rural Education, Agricultural Nature Management and Energy, is embedded as a component in Multifunctional Agriculture in Belgium. With 5 Provinces they organize the Short Chain Week in Flanders. And they profile themselves via the website "Limburg tastes like more". For more information see the websites and the handouts. It is interesting to see how we can connect the short chain initiatives in Belgium and the Netherlands to strengthen each other.

Download the presentation of De Voedselkaravaan here

Download the presentation from the Short Chain Coalition

Download here the presentation cooperation Belgian Limburg

Round Table Talk

Attentiveness, sharpness and continued questioning were encouraged. The guests each talked about their initiative and the challenges they encountered and the tips they now have for others as a result.

Wiro Nillesen - chain director

Wiro Nillesen told how his work as a chain director has helped form new chain collaborations. Among others, the cooperation between bakers and arable farmers around the Kollenberger Spelt and the Limburg Morel that is now on the Limburg Flan, are the results of someone from outside the chain taking the direction to connect them. He also indicates the importance of guts, creativity and a unique product. It starts with creating a product with added value instead of a mass product. And then communicate that story,
preferably as widely as possible. And making agreements to work exclusively with each other, even if a (temporary) better option suddenly presents itself. It's about long-term agreements and relationships.

Ron Geurts - Herenboeren Weert

Ron Geurts talked about the Herenboeren concept, which is now also going to start in Weert. It is an initiative of a number of citizens who want to provide their own food. They take together a Herenboer(in) for employment. It is a challenge to really connect everyone in the end. At first everyone is waiting for a location, but at a certain point you really need commitment from the group. That takes a lot of energy and patience. Fortunately there are already other Herenboerderijen in the Netherlands, then you can easily learn from each other.

Luuk Rövekamp - Shared Wealth

Luuk Rövekamp of Gedeelde Weelde talks about the collaboration between local farmers and citizens who are now going to open a supermarket together in Maastricht. The network of producer and consumer members is growing and the demand for a physical store was growing. The joint cooperative supermarket is a very unique and ambitious project. They have been working on it for more than 2 years. Especially finding a good location was quite a challenge. Also finding additional funding for the project was a search, but finally succeeded with the cooperation of all members, the Rabobank and the Province of Limburg. Luuk also indicates that patience is essential in the start-up phase. And having many discussions with stakeholders to strengthen the support base.

Follow-up

The afternoon provided much inspiration and exchange between the participants. In addition to the already 30 entrepreneurs who are already working with short chains, there were about 30 entrepreneurs and stakeholders who indicated that they would like to become active with short chains in the next 2 years or would like to improve the conditions for this. From the
Surveys showed that there is interest in meetings where the other chain parties (catering, processors, retail) are also more represented. It was also indicated that there is a need for more in-depth discussions on some subjects. We will take this into account when organizing follow-up meetings.