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BIONÆR-Bionæringsprogram

Farmers and the city: enhancing added value and sustainability through optimized use of urban and peri-urban farm resources (URBANFARMS)

Alternative title: Bønder og byen: økt verdiskaping og bærekraft gjennom optimalisert ressursbruk i byer og bynære områder (URBANFARMS)

Awarded: NOK 9.6 mill.

Project Number:

294604

Application Type:

Project Period:

2019 - 2024

Funding received from:

Subject Fields:

Partner countries:

How can professional farmers in cities and peri-urban areas increase added value from their production in an economically, socially, and environmentally sustainable way, through effective strategies that make use of the vicinity of the city. The project shall 1) identify land resources that are not in optimal use, 2) demonstrate business models that increase the use of the nearby city's market and purchasing power, 3) acquire knowledge about how to reduce obstacles and bottlenecks along the value chain from producer to consumer, and 4) provide advice for how urban and peri-urban farm enterprises can be better integrated into the urban 'metabolism' (local cycles of nutrients and organic matter) through organic waste recycling and production of new goods. Oslo and Bergen, two city regions in Norway with different prerequisites for agriculture, are study areas, and Bristol in the UK. In Bristol, urban farming as part of a sustainable food supply for the city has come much further than in Norway. Mapping of land resources, market analyses, farm potentials for strengthened contact with the urban market and integration of this into the urban metabolism will be studied for five farms in both Norwegian regions. The farms shall have different business models in which at least some production is adapted to profit from the vicinity of the city: community supported agriculture, pick-yourself, direct sales, etc. We conduct economic, social and environmental sustainability analyses on farm level, using an assessment tool with international reputation. The project consortium is interdisciplinary and international, with research scientists and other professionals from NIBIO and NORSØK in Norway, and from the Countryside and Community Research Institute and Bristol Food Network in the UK. The Norwegian Farmers Association and Organic Norway participate as stakeholder organisations. Disciplines represented are agronomy, economics, geography, and sociology. Following an open invitation, eleven farms have been recruited as participants in the project. Six of them are localised in the Bergen area, and five in and around Oslo. The farms represent a broad spectre of productions, including vegetables, fruit and berries, and livestock farming for meat and dairy products. The farms? sales channels are quite varied, including direct sales from the farm, farmers? market, restaurants and specialised shops, «REKO-ringer», and community supported agriculture. The group of farmers includes males and females, full-time and part-time farmers, younger and elder ones, and they have had their production going on for quite different periods of time. On a two-days seminar the researchers presented the project to the farmers, and the farmers presented their farms to the research and to one another. The researchers also gathered feedback and ideas from the farmers in terms of the activities planned in the project. Soils samples have been taken on the farms, analysed, and followed up both individually and on a joint webinar. Some farms have participated in specific individual test projects with researchers from NORSØK. Resources maps for urban agriculture have been developed on city region and farm levels, with input from the farmers, and have been presented and discussed on another joint webinar. Sustainability analysis have been conducted with the SMART farm tool, and the results have been presented and discussed on a third webinar. A producer survey has been conducted in cooperation with a national project on market gardens, and the results have been published in a report. A fourth webinar on sales channels was arranged for farmers and researchers by Organic Norway. Farmers in the Oslo and Bristol areas have been interviewed about their business models. A comparative presentation of findings has been done in a webinar. NORSØK has developed a tool for fertilisation planning in small-scale vegetable production which was launched in the same webinar. A survey among participants in community supported agriculture in Norway and the UK has been conducted, too. Norwegian researchers and farmers have undertaken a 3-days study trip to Bristol and surroundings. Encounters with farmers, representatives for retailers, visits to restaurants and a discussion with public officers and activists in the Bristol city food system provided interesting insights to the guest, but also to the hosts. Mapping work has been met with interest by potential public users in Norway and may become the basis for a new user-financed project at NIBIO. Several international scientific articles and other publications have been finalised, mostly within the project, but also in collaboration with external colleagues. A public final conference including presentations and a panel debate has been arranged, followed by a couple of site visits and a one-day excursion for project partners.

Enhancing sustainability in urban food systems can be beneficial for a large part of society in several respects. Farm enterprises which are located close to cities can increase added value creation from their products. Food supply chains can be shortened, and producers and consumers can establish closer contact and relations. Such relations can bring elements of learning, e.g. about the production process, yearly cycles and functioning of agriculture. Farming can become a more integrated part of the urban metabolism, rather than being perceived as an exclusively rural activity with little relevance in the daily lives of urban residents, aside maybe competing against urban land development interests. The continuously increasing number of urban residents can profit from nearby farm enterprises not only in terms of shortened food supply chains, but also from other on-farm generated ecosystem services.

The project aims at elaborating effective strategies for professional farmers in cities and peri-urban areas to make use of the vicinity of the city to increase added value from their production in an economically, socially and environmentally sustainable way. The project shall identify land resources that are not in optimal use, and demonstrate business models that increase the use of local nutrients and of the nearby city's market and purchasing power. Urban and peri-urban farm enterprises can be integrated into the urban 'metabolism' (cycle of nutrients and organic matter) through organic waste recycling and production of new goods. Two city regions in Norway with different prerequisites for agriculture (Oslo and Bergen) will be study areas, and one city in the UK (Bristol). In Bristol, urban farming as part of a sustainable food supply for the city has come much further than in Norway. Mapping of land resources, market analyses, farm potentials for strengthened contact wit the urban market and integration of this into the utban metabolism will be studied for 5 farms in each region. The farms shall represent different business models in which at least some production is adapted to profit from the vicinity of the city (community supported agriculture, pick-yourself, direct sales, etc.). We will conduct economic, social and environmental sustainability analyses on farm level, using the SMART assessment with international reputation. The consortium is interdisciplinary and international, with research scientists and other professionals from NIBIO and NORSØK in Norway, and from the Countryside and Community Research Institute and Bristol Food Network in the UK. The Norwegian Farmers Association and Organic Norway participate as stakeholder organisations. Disciplines represented are agronomy, economics, geography and sociology.

Publications from Cristin

Funding scheme:

BIONÆR-Bionæringsprogram