April 9, 2020
December was a busy month for the lighthouse farm network! It consisted of three major events all back to back:
It’s not often that one has the chance be in a room with some of the best minds in sustainable farming from all over the world. On the 11th of December, 2019, the Lighthouse Farms met each other for the first time. The day was an opportunity for the 11 farms and their representatives to meet, ask each other what makes them unique and innovative, and understand what they have in common and how they are different. There was opportunity for each of them to present themselves, brainstorm together on what is the future of agriculture looks like, and come to an understanding of what the network will mean for them. This is the first in what will be a series of workshops for the Lighthouse Farms to continue the exchange.
What knowledge and research will help young farmers transition to a future agriculture that is economically, environmentally and socially sustainable by 2050? That was the topic of discussion at the Spotlight on Young Farmers Symposium, held at Wageningen University and Research (WUR) on 12 December 2020. This symposium was the culmination of a collaboration between Farming Systems Ecology group of WUR, the Global Network of Lighthouse Farms, and The European Council of Young Farmers (CEJA), aimed at co-creating research agendas related to sustainable agriculture, based on the needs of young farmers. The symposium brought together 80 active participants, including 40 young farmer representatives from CEJA, 9 farmer representatives from the Global Network of Lighthouse Farms, 14 academic staff members from various chair groups, 8 volunteer MSc students, and 9 Farming Systems Ecology staff and event organisers.
The outcome of the event may be found here.
After the Spotlight on Young Farmer Symposium, the lighthouse farmers along with the 40 young farmers from all over Europe joined Wageningen faculty to celebrate the Inauguration of Rogier Schulte as Chair of the Farming Systems Ecology Group.
The speech, which can be found here in full, is titled “Redefining Sustainable Foodscapes” and outlines how Lighthouse Farms will provide the necessary real-life laboratory space for experimenting and understanding. It highlights the urgency for sustainable transitions, whilst acknowledging the multi-actor-based approach that is so integral to achieving a mosaic of solutions.