Jan Huijgen

This morning I was invited to give a guestlecture at the Agricultural University of Dronten for students all over Europa and even abroad (USA, Malawi).
I was invited to tell the story behind the European Eemland Conference which will be held in the end of octobre on the Eemlandhoeve (see www.versatilecountryside.eu)
In that lecture I told my personal story from local (1993), regional (1998), national (2003) and European (2008). Its starts with the Eemlandhoeve, than the regional association Ark&Eemlandschap, de national Stadteland and now the European Multifunctional Farmers Network and other European networks.
I realised myself during that story that rural entrepreneurship is a key element in this development. It are entrepreneurs who take the initative, it are entrepreneurs who are not only writing plans or policies, but realising things, it are entrepreneurs who are thinking about exploitation en attracting people for you products and business. It is very interesting to reflect about that entrepreneurial mindset. A lot of thinkers has done it, for instance Schumpeter. It is very interesting to see how it works. When I was travelling to Estonia, to Germany and to Portugal to visit my collegue Founding Farmers for the Versatile Countryside (a Movie is made about them for the EEConference!), I was struck by the guts and the (partly) realised vision of these farmers. All of us has worked now for about 15 years in their farm to broaden it, to find new relationships with the region, to connect knowledgeworkers in this new business. But key player is the entrepreneur who would like to realise his specific goal. And each have his own point of excellence. One in human/animal relationship, the other in the montado experience of dealing with topsoil, the other in lebens- mittel = mittel zum leben, and the last one in human/farmer interrelationship.
Each has worked it out in his own setting, but each has made it visible in farm buildings, in sustainable landuse, in productdevelopment.

I got just the preface of Mrs. Mariann Fischer Boel for our new book Cityside Oasis, which will also be present on our Conference. In it she stresses the role of the new entrepreneurial spirit for the EU farmers.
I hope that this point is made clear to the students and that some of them (10%) is struck by this talent/mood and pick up entrepreneurship in his/her country. Even in Malawi – the student reacted – it will be interesting to do such kind of thing. It was the best compliment I heard this day!

Kind regards, Jan Huijgen