Strengthening the regional food chain

The province of Flevoland is actively working on shortening and sustainability of the food chain. In 2017, the province started as Lead Partner the INTERREG FoodChains 4 EU project. By exchanging of knowledge and experience with four other European regions, the province of Flevoland is strengthening the regional food chain. Europa decentraal discussed this project with Hillebrand Koning, program manager at the province of Flevoland.

Can you tell us more about FoodChains 4 EU?
“FoodChains 4 EU is a knowledge exchange program in the field of innovations in the food chain, such as short chains,’ explains Koning. ‘Different European regions are learning from each other’s good practices. The program focuses on the question ‘How do you ensure that your food is brought with the shortest possible chain from the farmer to the consumer?’ and ‘How do you strengthen the interaction between the farmer and the consumer?’,  he explains. The aim is to influence policy and to accelerate innovations. Because in other regions in Europe the knowledge about short chains is much further developed than in the Netherlands, an INTERREG project is, according to Koning good way to bring in that knowledge from other Member States. Flevoland collaborates for this project with the  Emilia-Romagna regions in Italy, Maramures in Romania, the Manchester Region in the United Kingdom and Plovdiv & Sofia in Bulgaria. ‘These regions are all differently working with regional products, and shortening and preserving
food chains’, explains Koning. “Within Interreg we learn from each other’s knowledge and experiences in the field of shorter and sustainable food chains.”

Read the full interview on page 43 of the Agrofood Magazine

Invasive alien species or exotics are animals or plants that do not originally occur in the area where they are found and are harmful to that area. Examples are the muskrat, the Japanese knotweed and the giant hogweed. They displace native animals and plants or they can cause damage to buildings, pipes and infrastructure. The European Union has laid down rules to combat invasive alien species. This should prevent damage from these species as much as possible. Provinces, water boards and municipalities are involved in combating these exotics.

European policy
The European rules are laid down in Regulation 1143/2014 on invasive alien species (the IAS Regulation; Invasive Alien Species). The regulation aims to prevent, limit and reduce the negative impact of invasive alien species on biodiversity and ecosystem services on the one hand, and to limit social and economic damage on the other.

The core of the Regulation is a list of invasive alien species of concern. This list is also known as the Union list. The list is established with Implementing Regulation 2016/1141. Member States can supplement this list at the national level. The European Union can also supplement this list on the basis of a risk assessment. A plant species that is on this list is for example the giant hogweed.

Read the full article on Kenniscentrum Europadecentraal.

Other examples are the webpages on: Drinkingwater,  biowaste, Co2 storage, Climate, and Renewable energy.

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