I have learned from philosophy the old reaction patterns of European thinking: after the dark middle ages we have the Enlightement with reasonable people developing science and technology. Modern culture was developing, modern farming systems were the practical outcome. But within Europe we get a strong reaction to this rationalistic approach: the romantic movement with drew attention to emotional, artistic, community and even religious aspects. Within European culture we are ever and ever confronted with these two way of approaching reality. We see this also reflected in agriculture with the classical modernistic approach and the opposing alternatives in biological farming, nostalgic forms of local /regional agriculture and so on.

But now, a new rural paradigm is ermerging as a reaction on and as a strategic alternative route for modernist farming systems. This ‘third way’ of farming – above the dilemma modernist/nostalgic farming – is getting more and more support from different perspectives:
- regional food strategies of cities
- versatile countryside developments ( ‘the countryside has so much more to offer ‘)
- slow food culture movements
- new entrepreneurial frameworks in multifunctionality (new businessmodels)
- innovation programm’s of regional, national and international government/knowledge bodies
- sustainability measurements (blended value concepts).

For a rebalancing of our food culture, a more integral policy framework (from region to European) and scharpening of our knowledge- and innovation agenda we need to rediscover the meaning of agri – culture as culture of the agri.
Beyond the modern/idyllic dialectic we need to be passioned for caring soil, animals and products, we are in need of integral visions on the urban/rural frameworks and need courageous examples of the realising future of agriculture.
The Eemlandhoeve case serves as example of such a Cityside Oasis of the European Versatile Countryside.
(see www.eemlandhoeve.nl;blog www.janhuijgen.nl; www.versatilecountryside.eu, book: Cityside Oasis; Movie European Versatile Farmers)

Jan Huijgen (Demonstration Farm Multifunctional Agriculture ‘Eemlandhoeve’), pioneer new City/Countryside relationships *
Jan Huijgen is farmer and philosopher, involved in different initiatives around multifunctional agriculture, versatile countryside and rural transformation processes. His is rural entrepreneur at demonstration farm ‘Eemlandhoeve’ and winner of the Mansholtprize 2007

Agriculture is coming from a primairy and urgent good – food production- for the sustaing, health and wellbeing of the people. In the starting years of the Agricultural policy – and we can go back to Joseph in Egypt in the Bible – we the government task in providing enough food for the people. That implicates an Government who is very present in development, in preserving some food for times of trouble or modern: by not functioning markets. Especially after the World war II the Common Agricultural Policy was directed centrally from Brussel in all kinds of regulations for the sector and for the country policies on agriculture. AP is historically, systematically and for the future organized around policy centres who have power, guidelines and money to create a common strategy for priority goods of the people. AP is in the mean time embedded in a very strong economic and technological chain network which had been very effective but …. Has also his flaws.

Rural development starts almost immediately with the characteristics of the different regions and the involvement of different actors in the region. It are not the primary and priority goods of getting alive, but about the goods we need beyond the act of getting alive: the life quality and life conditions of the people. When we inhabit a beatiful landscape, or recreate, or learn, or creating regional culture, we are taking the next steps in living. In some sense is this reflected in the RP framework: we empower the regional actors to sustain their diverse rural area, to develop new products in the region for making it attractive and livable. It is characteristic that the European LEADER bottom up approach has created so much energy that it is now embedded in new rural policy framework (axis 4).
RP has created a lot of dynamics in regions, but has it the economic and structural power to regain the regional quality and diversity which is in need for sustaining and healthy communities?

AP and RP are coming from one European DG on Agriculture. It has two departments on agriculture and on rural development. They are different in policy framework, in budget, in connecting to regional affairs and in style of operating. In the modulation and progressive modulation budget from one department (agriculture) is coming to the other (rural development).
With our concept of the Versatile Countryside (see www.versatilecountryside.eu) we connect entrepreneurs, marketcreation, regional development and knowledge circulation. In some sense it connects the separated worlds of agriculture and rural development. It also creates a policy frame which connects the best of both worlds: the primary and priority product of food and the culture around that product (regional context).
I find it fascinating to reflect from this new concept on the difference between AP and RP. Can we discuss the formula: VC = RP + AP?
Some food for thought for the next blog and I am curious about your thoughts on this!

It was the aim of the EEConference to create a meeting place for these different people. I have met people from the government from all levels (OECD, European, National, regional and from the local government), entrepreneurs from Hungary, Portugal, Estonia and other countries. There were students and knowledge people from several countries of Europe and even abroad. And I have met social involved citizens from the Netherlands, but even from Armenie.
All people have their own agendas on knowlegde, policy, business and social aspects. Can we create a common agenda, a common regional agenda where all the perspectives come to each other?
I saw some elements on the Conference of creating this common agenda. We saw interesting developments about regional identity with economy, tourism, landscape as concrete projects. The Portugese project about de CO2 reduction strategy of the farmers and the bio- businessdeals can give new impulses to the region in the context of the national and European innovation agenda. Big cities are in search of the neighbouring areas for landscape, education, regional products, care, waterquality and so on.
For the realisation of these regional agenda’s, we need the strenght of common partnerships and the forming of a mega community. It is creating the ‘common language’ between the partners. And we need ‘translators’ who can intermediate between the different partners. Business people have an other way of thinking and making choices than government people. Most knowledge people are observing, analysing, making options but can’t take the responsibility of just doing it. So we need leaders who organize the comunity of different people for making together the decisions for the regional approaches. And it is important to connect the regional projects with the national and European agenda. It stimulates regions to connect to other regions who have comparable problems and challenges.

Looking backward to the European Eemland Conference we have brought together people from different domains for meeting each other and discussing a common agenda.
It was interesting and it was promising.
Looking forward we are trying to form an European Versatile Countryside movement with the networks we have met on the EEConference. For making next steps I am at the moment dealing with an Intereg project RIS – Regional Innovation Strategies – with partners from the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, France and England.

It is remarkable that this week was also a big Conference on the rural area, organized by the European Commission itself. It is held in Cyprus under the title ‘Europe’s rural areas in action’ (see for the interesting programm http://www.aimgroup.eu/2008/cyprus/index.html).
We see the launching of the European Network for Rural Development (ENRD), which will help the national chapters in implementing the existing programms for rural development.

It is interesting to reflect on the similarities and differences of both our Conferences. Both are concerned about the vitality of the rural area to face the ‘challenges’. Both see new tasks of the government and the knowledge/research institutes for analysing and financing new opportunities facing these challenges. Both are also aware of the multilevel approach – from local, regional, national en European to address the problems.

There is one point on which I sense at least some difference: the role of the entrepreneurial spirit and the market/chain approach. For serious innovation you need the risk taking persons, the doers, the marketimpulses and the networks which are formed by this men and organisations. I know, from the governmentperspective and from the countrysidepeople we are a little bit afraid of these powerfull market forces. And it is important to take into account the dangers of too much market and to little public values in the rural area.
I was surprised to discover that in the recent publication of the OECD – The new rural paradigm – the best practises of rural development included also the involvement of the businessparties. Next week Mr. Nicolas Crosta of the OECD will also attend the European Eemland Conference and I would like to talk with him about that. Key processes of innovation need besides government and knowledge also that businessexperience.

On the European Eemland Conference we will discuss an innovation model – the Social Entreprise European Versatile Countryside (EVC) which will involve special business people: the Social Venture Entrepreneurs. That are people who combine the entrepreneurial spirit with the corporate social responsibility – not only profit, but also people and planet are important.
We need for the tough challenges of the rural area social responsible entrepreneurs who are serious about the public values of the commons, and at the same time entrepreneurial in taking up the challenges on a creative way.

I would like to discuss this EVC approach with the new European Network for Rural Development, with the EU commissar mrs. Fischer Boel and all other participants in the ongoing discussion on the Rural Area of Europe. I would like to start this next week, and when people have already ideas beforehand – comment on this blog!

But, it is time to reflect upon the happening of the Conference and the next step behind.
It is a wonderfull happening that the Eurocommisar Mrs. Mariann Fischer Boel is coming to this Conference. And she had already written a remarkable preface fot the jubilee book of the conference: Cityside Oasis – or how to bridge the gap between city and countryside’
In it she write about the importance of innovative entrepreneurship and the necessity of a holistic approach of the countryside. She reacts on our model of the Versatile Countryside in which entrepreneurship (1), market creation (2), regional indentity (3) and knowledge (4) are combined.
On the Conference this holistic approach comes back on the three days:


Day 1: the introduction speech of our former Minister Veerman will analyse the necessity of the reconnection of farmers and citizens and the need for an integral innovative approach. Also with the OECD the ‘new rural paradigm’ and on the discussionforum we will analyse the ‘mindset’ for creating this movement.

Day 2: in the morning the model of the Versatile Countryside will be discussed and in the afternoon the agenda of the projects will be discussed and formulated

Day 3: in the morning we will have with they keyplayers of the network a U- turn session in which we will explore our commitments to this EVC approach. In the harvest of this Conference we will present the results to our Eurocommissar Mrs. M.Fischer Boel with the question if she will join and will support our European Versatile Countryside as a form of the holistic approach she has described in her preface.

We have still a way to go to an European Versatile Countryside. I am curious to know if this is an promising way and if people from several domains (farmers/ entrepreneurs, marketparties, social investors, knowledgeinstitutes, and committed citizens organisations) can join us on this way.
Who will comment on this ‘on the way to EVC’ proposat?

In the week of 2&3 october there will be a meeting of the REP in Porto (Vairao – Portugal) about the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) after 2014: shaping of a Regional Agricultural Policy (RAP) for Europe. Besides the CAP the development of the RAP and the rebalancing of the common en the regional specific elements of that policy.
I was invited to come to connect this meeting of the REP with the movement of the European Versatile Countryside. The REP transitional paper 2 will be used as a pre –advice for the EEConference with the EU commisar Mrs. Mariann Fischer Boel.
I could not go to Portugal because I have to focus now on the EEconference. But the material of the REP meeting is very relavant for the EEConference. The discussion of the direction of the Agricultural sector and broader the sustaining Landscape in Europe is very important. And this is not only a policy discussion, but a broader sector and domain transgressing movement.
Policy discussions by scientist can clarify some of the underlying forces of this transition process. On the REP meeting this analysis is taken up by scientist all over Europe. I would like to read the results. A good analysis can be the starting of a new policy agenda and the invention of new directions of the frameworks and actors operating in this field.

For me, the connection of the REP meeting in Porto and the European Versatile Countryside movement will contain the next few spearheads:

A.	how can we rebalance the existing CAP (with its modifications in the reforms and health check) and the new developping RAP in the globalising and regionalising World? What are the plus and minus factors of the CAP which can be corrected by a more regional specific agriculture policy?

B.

How can we broaden our existing and narrowed concept of agriculture to a real and serious agri – culture? The culture of the agri in which the landscape, the environment, the care for animals, the multifunctionality of farming is really at stake. This mental shift, this operational formula, this contextual paradigm shift is necessary for our sustainable agriculture. I am curious to know if Porto can make proposals for this transforming concept of Agri- culture.

C.

How can a rebalanced CAP/RAP and a transformed concept of Agri-culture be new organising and mobilising factors in the EU arena for the coming period? How is REP positioning itself in the broader context of the European Versatile Countryside Movement which conceptual, organisational and even ‘spiritual’ (see ‘the spirit of Stresa and Eemland in my other blog) is presented on the EEConference the end of october?

Enough questions, enough interesting stuff for my friends on the Porto meeting and I am curious to know some of the answers.

In one of the articles the Guest editorial David R.Stead of the University of Dublin, analysed the role of the conference at Stresa for the CAP. His emphasis is on the role of Mansholt in formulating the ambition of the policy agenda and what het called ‘the unusually positive atmosphere …in a European spirit’. ‘the delegates were generally eager to avoid nationalistic defensiveness and negativity and instead search for common ground’.

In the literature an article of M.Tracy (1994) is picked up called ‘The spirit of Stresa’.

I think this is an important point. People can make the difference and that difference is dependent on ‘the spirit’ of people. Is there a positive spirit, than a lot of energy can be created and a movement with a common agenda can be put on place. When it is negative, the opposite is happening.

It is therefore important to find the Very Inspiring Persons (VIP’s) for yourself. For me I have for this time 4 VIP’s in mind. Mansholt and de former secretary general of the United Nations – Dag Hammerskjold – are two of them. The others you can read in the book Cityside Oasis, which will be published on the EEconference.

What I experienced in this persons is the visionary and inner growth and strength which is very powerfull on the places where these two men were placed. They made the difference in the policy agenda, one in agriculture, the other in the peace keeping process of the World.

We are now in the preparation of the EEconference busy with all kind of organisational and programmatic issues. But the most important thing will be the ‘spirit of Bunschoten’ which vitalize the European Versatile Countryside movement. Can we learned the lesson of Stresa, do we indeed have a new common goal which is attractive beyond all the differences we experience as European?

For me this point will be with me during the coming weeks up to the Conference and how to explicate this dimension of spirit on the Conference itself.

I hope that more people become involved in this concern and intriguing facet of human life.

Jan Huijgen

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

I am a multifunctional farmer , my name is John, just as the famous Farmer John from the States, we have met each other! I am living in the midst of the Netherlands (Eemland) on a farm called The Eemlandhoeve – you can look for the website – and we are organizing at the moment the European Eemland Conference (EEC) where our Eurocommissar Mrs. Mariann Fischer Boel will come in the end of octobre 2008.

For that Conference, and broader for the movement of the European Versatile Countryside (EVC), I started this blog for telling what’s going on, what are inspiring moments, what is happening in my country and other countries and how we can bring coherence which each other.

Blogging is a new manner of expressing and communicating in a very direct and personal way. I will try to express myself in a more personal and direct way.

Our farm the Eemlandhoeve celebrate this year its 15^th anniversary. It started at 1993 at a local level, in 1998 we founded from this place the regional farmersassociation Ark&Eemlandschap for landscapemanagment, in 2003 we connected several farmersassociation tot the Cooperative Stadteland – CityandCountryside. And now in 2008 we are making our next step: the European connections.

I have learned to create our festivity on three ways:

a. making a book: whats has happened and is the story behind. Title of the new book will be Cityside Oasis – or how to bridge the gap between city and countryside.

b. a movie: we have visited three other Founding Farmers on multifunctionality in Estonian (Pisonii farm), Germany (Hermmannsdorfer Landwerkstatte) and Portugal (Freixo do Meio). Together with the Eemlandhoeve are these four farmers with there place portrated in the movie on the European Versatile Countryside;

c. the European Eemland Conference from octobre 22-24 on the Eemlandhoeve in the Netherlands. A wonderfull programm with our Eurocommissar Mrs. Mariann Fischer Boel on the last day.

I like to tell you in my blog something about this new development on the European countryside, and I hope you can understand why this will be important for the future of agriculture and for a living countryside!