DialogPunkt Xanten hosted Dr Ana Kreter, coordinator of our Agroforstry Living Laboratory transformation project. She opened with an introduction to the agroforestry system. Agroforestry systems, which combine arable farming or permanent grassland with woody plants and/or livestock farming on one area, still represent a niche in agriculture. A growing one, however, as Ana emphasised. In Germany, agroforestry systems are very unevenly distributed regionally; they are much more prevalent in the south than in the north. There is also more potential in the west. Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences (HSRW) and our TransRegINT project are therefore working hard to establish agroforestry systems in the Lower Rhine region in the long term. ‘Because they are good for nature, animals and the soil,’ Ana points out.
Conscious consumption decisions
She did not hide the fact that farmers who start to establish an agroforestry system are confronted with high and long-term investments, a lot of work and hardly any yield at the beginning. However, their commitment to nature and the climate can be honoured by us as consumers. The challenge: agroforestry products are not specifically labelled and can only be bought very locally at best. Many agricultural businesses market their products through farm shops, for example, but have little time for marketing. This is another area where Ana and her team from Agroforst Reallabor come in: Through formats such as sampling agroforestry products, the aim is to tell people about local suppliers and motivate them to make conscious purchasing decisions.
‘So many great products are available here in the region’
To this end, she introduced some of the Agroforstry Living Laboratory´s cooperation partners to the participants at DialogPunkt Xanten and brought along the corresponding products for them to try. The products to see, smell and taste included onion and liver sausage made from goose meat from Gänsepeter in Rommerskirchen, young goat cheese and goat ice cream from Hogefelderhof in Kalkar-Hanselaer and the minty-golden honey from the HSRW’s own Tiny Agroforst.
‘I’m delighted that the suppliers‘ addresses were in demand at the end of the event,’ says Ana. ‘This means we have achieved our goal for this evening: to arouse curiosity about local products and create awareness.’
The HSRW’s Tiny Agroforest is not just a place for visualisation, but also offers students a place for practical experience, which is also included in many student projects. Students on the ‘Sustainable Agriculture’, ‘Agribusiness’ and ‘Biological Resources’ degree programmes apply the knowledge they gain here later in their professional lives. For example, many work as consultants for chambers of agriculture, companies and organisations. Others work in sales and marketing for agricultural products and machinery. Some are also drawn to public authorities, development cooperation and science.
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