22 OKTOBER 2019

IMAGRO

Hoe krijg je de grote middengroep veehouders mee in verandering?

Tijdens het Creativity World Forum 2019 dat op 21, 22 en 23 oktober in Brabant werd gehouden, presenteerde een aantal wet-houders challenges voor de bezoekers van het CWF. De challenge van Roger Engelberts van Imagro was onderdeel van het hub-programma in Meierijstad.

Wet-houder Roger Engelberts ontving de CWF-bezoekers op de kaasmakerij Siebeskaas in Erp. Hier onderzochten zij met elkaar creatieve manieren om een omslag te bewerkstelligen in het voedselsysteem.

Roger over zijn challenge:

As a citizen, people cry out loud and react from their hearts, but as a consumer people are driven by finances and make rather unsustainable choices. So what can be done to create necessary changes in our food system? Everything starts with the ability and courage to see the great issues of our time and approach these challenges with colorfulness and diversity.

But what about farmers? I think farmers are often stuck in the middle, addicted to their old business model. Stuck in the ‘commodity trap’. Trapped in a system with products that are not unique in any way and thereby exchangeable. Operational excellence and reducing costs by scaling up don’t work in Holland, our land, our wages, our production costs – it’s just too expensive. We’ll go down the drain this way.

Only a small group of leaders is breaking out from the pack. These pioneers started to look at value instead of cost price. But the pack is slow and stubborn. Following old routines. In my workshop at the farm of Dutch cheesemaker and dairy farmer Siebe van de Crommert (25)  www.siebeskaas.nl we are making the switch from costprice leadership to value leadership by using the value compass(sion). We will visit the cheesemakery and use the case of Siebe to create new perspectives. Nice to know: the work!shop takes place in the barn where the Dutch cows are curiously looking about what creativity rightbrained audience visited them.

I see it as my personal challenge to motivate the large group of farmers that is stuck in mindset and foodsystem. How to create a stimulating inspiring forefront that can motivate others to discover new and different ways? Once a year you need a doctor, every day you need a farmer to keep you healthy. Let’s love and help farmers.