hello @margolys! Thank you for the registration to our event, hope it will be useful for you for the networking and wait for your input during the webinar.
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welcome to EdgeRyders, @EwaJ-L! Thank you for the interesting online conversation during our call, it threw some light on the political background of the current negotiations in agriculture. The link to the webinar will be sent via email.
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Thank you for the registration to our event @miloskonjovic82. Lack of mutual understanding and cooperation is very much the topic in Poland. As well as fighting CO2 contamination. Could you share names of these projects? The link to the webinar will be sent via email. Hope it will be useful for you for the networking!
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Very interesting point. Is there any example of Serbian businesses exporting in this way @Dubravka?
A question also for @Vladb who, from what I understand, is involved in farmingā¦ What made you not use pesticides and what would be the arguments for your peers who would like to maybe access more support and advice to grow their business without compromising on quality? or to even subside, as it is often the case with small farmers.
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What is your name?
Sebastian
Are you part of a project or an organisation? What does the project/organisation do, and why?
produce and deliver food locally while repurposing abandoned buildings in the urban landscape.
Letās get to know each other. Which of the following topics is the most relevant to you?
Sustainability in agriculture or food
Think about the topicā¦ and tell us: What is a practical problem that you have in your work/projects or personal life?
lack of affordable land. Difficulty to get food locally and to know the producers.
How is your government helping this, or not helping?
there are grants but is it hard to accede them. Also they are meant mainly for bigger producers.
Are you interested to co-host an event with EdgeRyders in the next months? If so, do you have ideas to engage others near you to participate?
i think i will understand after the participation to this 1st event
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Hi @UrbanFunghi, welcome to our small corner of the world 
Iām Noemi, one of the hosts for the session,
Curious: where are you based and do you already have a project to work with funghi?
Myself, Iāve become quite fond of funghi because I am running a project with funghi fermentation, and my partner has long been working with funghi as material for construction, design, and so on.
What would you like to discover at the session?
Feel free to also comment on other peopleās remarks here and in 2 other conversations we are having:
- Event Invitation - Sustainable Agriculture and Food
- Local food will be priceless. How do we fight big agribusinesses and talk to farmers to produce in traditional ways? One of the points here is like you say, that grants go to bigger agri businesses!
What is your name?
Justyna
Are you part of a project or an organisation? What does the project/organisation do, and why?
Coalition Living Earth
Letās get to know each other. Which of the following topics is the most relevant to you?
Sustainability in agriculture or food
Think about the topicā¦ and tell us: What is a practical problem that you have in your work/projects or personal life?
the problem of the lack of public awareness of the impact of agriculture on human and animal health and the state of the environment
lack of political will to change the existing agricultural and food policy system
How is your government helping this, or not helping?
not helping
Are you interested to co-host an event with EdgeRyders in the next months? If so, do you have ideas to engage others near you to participate?
Changing the food system
Welfare of farm animals and its impact on environmental protection
Food quality - which agriculture to promote as a consumer
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Thank you for the registration to our event @Justin. It is great that Koalicja Żywa Ziemia will participate in the webinar! Hope it will be useful for you for the networking and sharing your understanding of the practical problems for sustainable agriculture in Poland.
What is your name?
Patrick Andrews
Are you part of a project or an organisation? What does the project/organisation do, and why?
I have been interested in sustainable agriculture for many years. I am not involved in a project but might be one day.
Letās get to know each other. Which of the following topics is the most relevant to you?
Work and employment
Think about the topicā¦ and tell us: What is a practical problem that you have in your work/projects or personal life?
Accessing good quality local food
How is your government helping this, or not helping?
Not helping - the UK government is blinded by big business and cannot see how harmful current approaches to agriculture are.
Are you interested to co-host an event with EdgeRyders in the next months? If so, do you have ideas to engage others near you to participate?
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What is your name?
Irene
Are you part of a project or an organisation? What does the project/organisation do, and why?
Iām a PhD researcher in organizational studies focusing on error narratives and resilience in organizations. ATM trying to find my ways between a pretty conventional faculty, (mostly and preferably offline) environmental and social justice activism and mastering herbology and the production of herbal plants for various uses.
Letās get to know each other. Which of the following topics is the most relevant to you?
Sustainability in agriculture or food
Think about the topicā¦ and tell us: What is a practical problem that you have in your work/projects or personal life?
Iām interested in settling within a community that aims at food sovereignty beyond my occasional volunteering in urban agroecology projects and woofing. Iām rather thinking about co-living, co-housing ad Iām interested in investigating what it means to be a farmer & service (knowledge) worker at the same time & how work should be re-organized / downsized for our (& the planet) well being and resilience. Iām also interested in understanding the urban / rural divide: which kind of territories can be self-reliant and different experiences in experimenting with size of communities and type of engagement from different members.
How is your government helping this, or not helping?
Iām not fully informed but on top of some districts and agroecological projects around my city (Brussels), I cannot think of a real āambitiousā funding / support scheme for food sovereignty in my region.
Are you interested to co-host an event with EdgeRyders in the next months? If so, do you have ideas to engage others near you to participate?
Not quite so far but I may after this session? 
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Long time no seeing Patrick, good to have you back! And for diversity, itās nice to have concerned citizens bringing in your own viewpoints !
Is there perhaps some public supported initiatives that you trust, albeit in your local community? And also: do you see people demanding more quality food?
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Very interesting point @irene_1! Some of us have been talking a lot about the need to āeducateā farmers to stick to traditional farming, write funding proposals, build their own community of support and local circuits (very interesting conversation here). But in my opinion, it rests on the image of the farmer we now have, an ageing population and less younger people in rural areas. What is this mixed role that you are talking about, how did you come to this idea ?
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Hello @noemi, very nice to e-meet you as well!
In order to stay afloat, i invested almost all the income from the farm back into it. We are operating at about a 20% gross profit margin and we are using that to finance the farmās expenses from season to season. Investments were made mainly with our own money. We are fortunate to have a couple local partners for organic materials that we use in our system (mulches etc).
I hope that i answered your question but please let me know if there are things that i missed! 
Vlad
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Our mission is to change the way in which vegetables are grown in Romania. We wanted to build a sustainable farm in every way: from a soil health perspective and from an economic perspective. So this is why we are commited to an organic bio intensive market gardening system.
An organic system not only provides ensures that the soil is getting more and more productive each year but also is a system that gets simpler as time passes. There is less pest pressure and less disease pressure with the passing of time. In terms of support, my suggestion is to find books and other reading materials as good organic farming consultants are difficult to find in Romania. Regarding the business development aspect, this is a bit more complicated but starting with the basics would be the best avenue to take: record keeping, knowing your numbers on expenses, income, profit margin and selecting the right crops to grow based on these.
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What does that mean, in practice? Sometimes we hear things like regenerative agriculture, permaculture etc, is this similar ? And what are the limits to scale?
Hi Noemi, thanks for the welcome. Indeed long time no see - would be nice to see you again sometime. In terms of your question, one interesting initiative in the UK is re-wilding, which has some limited government support (and is attracting growing attention). It is not just about food, but it definitely about important things like soil health and biodiversity will play a vital role in healthy food system.
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What is your name?
Tamara
Are you part of a project or an organisation? What does the project/organisation do, and why?
EU project manager: Roadmap, Soildiveragro y Novaterra (H2020) and VINIoT (Interreg Sudoe)
Letās get to know each other. Which of the following topics is the most relevant to you?
Sustainability in agriculture or food
Think about the topicā¦ and tell us: What is a practical problem that you have in your work/projects or personal life?
Looking for more sustainable agricultural management practices.
How is your government helping this, or not helping?
Governments are involved in a way.
Are you interested to co-host an event with EdgeRyders in the next months? If so, do you have ideas to engage others near you to participate?
It could to be an option to think about.
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Nice to e-meet you Tamara! Where are you based?
Could you share with us an example of collaboration from one of your projects? Do you personally feel it is making an impact in sustainability? We have heard quite some critical points, especially from those directly involved in working with farmers, so itās useful to see how things look from your perspective.
What is your name?
Wilfried Rimensberger
Are you part of a project or an organisation? What does the project/organisation do, and why?
Millbank Creative Works uses creative and sustainability projects to build a stronger local communities and facilitate neighbourhood stakeholder engagement. We established Westminsterās most successful local community garden And run regular creative up cycling workshops at Tate Britain and regular local community linked projects with ChelseaUAL students and teachers. #MillbankAtlas
Letās get to know each other. Which of the following topics is the most relevant to you?
Sustainability in agriculture or food
Think about the topicā¦ and tell us: What is a practical problem that you have in your work/projects or personal life?
Growing fluctuation in residents moving in an out of the neighbourhood.
How is your government helping this, or not helping?
Gentrification with new expensive developments brings in new owners. But most are renting out. It also drives up living costs for the remaining original residents.
Are you interested to co-host an event with EdgeRyders in the next months? If so, do you have ideas to engage others near you to participate?
Iām thinking about it.
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