Bio-Science Engineering Department of Agricultural Economics Development strategies for peri-urban farming BVLE symposium Valerie Vandermeulen Promotor: Prof. G. Van Huylenbroeck

Department of Agricultural Economics

Urbanization in Belgium ■Urban and Peri-urban regions ● The fringe of Brussels ● Big cities in West-Flanders ■Rural regions ● Parts of West-Flanders ● More distant fringe of Brussels ■Difference? Based on population pressure and commuting figures

Department of Agricultural Economics Advantages and Disadvantages of urbanization ■examples of differences ● Policy (some results) ● Land use (some results) ● Transportation (yet to be researched) ●...  Changing farm strategy

Department of Agricultural Economics ■Policy FLANDERS ■Emphasis on environmental issues ■Promotion of organic farming WALLOON REGION ■Emphasis on agricultural productivity ■Attention to social context %FlandersWalloon Active diversification39.0 %27.2 % Environmental programs19.4 %27.5 %

Department of Agricultural Economics ■Policy is also researched at a local level The analysis shows that local policies can make a difference in the uptake of multifunctionality and diversification. The local policy is highly underestimated as institutional level.

Department of Agricultural Economics ■Land Use Rural -> peri-urban -> urban  Less land available  Less profitable traditional farming On Average5 km closer to Brussels Land in ownership ha Land in tenancy ha On Average1 ha less in ownership 1 ha less in tenancy Probability of farm being profitable % %

Department of Agricultural Economics Changing farm strategy ■New activities ● E.g. Active diversification, home selling, new products  Active diversification is a strategy used by peri-urban farmers Note: rural and peri-urban areas should be refined West-FlandersFringe of Brussels Direct sales3.6 %3.9 % Home processing9.2 %27.5 % Tourism4.0 %5.3 %

Department of Agricultural Economics ■Valorize nature and landscape effects of farming ● E.g. environmental programs, hedges, tree rows => Environmental programs are strategies used by non peri-urban farmers! Environmental programsMean distance from Brussels Farmer without24.35 km Farmer with26.91 km

Department of Agricultural Economics ■Strong networks ● E.g. for locally produced goods ● Yet to be researched ■Other possible strategies ?

Department of Agricultural Economics Progress ■Early stage literature review ■Collection of data: ● On multifunctional agriculture (finished) ● On networking (going on) ● … ■Developing strategies ■Feasibility of development suggestions