Author: Méabh Byrne
Public land for public interest – an idea that seems simple and straightforward, but in reality it is not that simple or straightforward, and people are going to great pains to try and make this happen. It is no secret that in the UK, access to land for farming is extremely challenging for new entrant farmers, particularly those seeking to start a market garden and remain financially viable.
This session explored examples of alliances formed between local authorities and civil society organisations to make greater use of public land and promote the development of agroecology. Panellists discussed their experiences working on projects from Powys to Paris, as well as some brief examples from across Europe.
Public farmland has the potential to address a range of issues for local communities, by providing opportunities for sustainable access to land, supporting local sustainable food economies, providing jobs, and nurturing biodiversity.
In the UK, councils are under extreme financial pressure, and as land values continue to rise, these capital assets are the first to go when monetary gains are needed. Across the country, local authority farm holdings are being sold off. However, instead of ‘flogging it’, these panelists have gone against the grain, creating new models for partnerships, resisting the status quo, and providing opportunities for agroecological farmers.
Powys Council has partnered with a range of civil society organisations, including Shared Assets, to pilot a Future Farms Partnership to create more agroecological farms with off-grid homes in Wales – using public land. Moreover, this project is to serve as a template for planning applications that can be replicated by creating resources that share best practice and guidance for planning permission. Shared Assets and the Landworkers Alliance have worked closely with growers and new entrant farmers to create accessible guidance for navigating the planning system, which is due to be released soon.
Roughly only 0.2% of the agricultural land in Wales is dedicated to horticulture, and the country has a very low average consumption of fruit and vegetables. This demonstrates the clear need for agroecological farms – for the health of both communities and the land. According to Gary Mitchell, research shows that if 2% of agricultural land in Wales was devoted to horticulture, it could feed all of the communities in the country with their ‘five a day’ fruit and vegetables.
Once the farms are up and running, the partnership remains in place to monitor the project’s value, run site visits for education, and to help provide roots to markets. While it sounds like a promising project, there are still some details to be ironed out in regard to pricing, which is expected to charge commercial prices to farmers. Furthermore, as farming is not a statutory provision for councils, the project needs to demonstrate its success and provide clear reasons for why this land should not be sold.
In contrast to the Welsh example, the price of farmland in France is relatively reasonable. Critically, as the City of Paris’ Food Strategy aims to increase organic food supplied in canteens, this project is backed by policy. Beyond policy support, the city provided a grant of €200,000, which acted as a catalyst for Terre de Liens to mobilise additional funding to co-finance new projects. Over the last three years, they have acquired six farms, and worked with a range of partners including citizen funding and water agencies.
Following this, Alice Martin-Prèvel provided examples from across Europe, showcasing the various roles that authorities can take in partnerships as the owner, facilitator, or regulator. From engaging farmers and running workshops for a shared vision of public land, to supporting and facilitating local food economies, and ensuring that farmland remains protected and designated as such, we can see there are many positive actions that local authorities can take.
The UK is heavily reliant on imported fruit and vegetables, demonstrating a clear need to invest within this sector. Further to this, as Kim Graham highlighted, there is a broader need for a support scheme for new entrant farmers in order to increase accessibility to the sector and help with financial difficulties. With a clear need for this, one can hope that Powys Council serves as not only an example, but the first of many agroecological projects across the UK, where local authorities work alongside civil society organisations to allow public land to be used for public good.
About the Author:
Meabh is extremely interested in food system transitions and agroecology. In 2021, she completed an MSc in Environmental Governance, where she focused her dissertation on environmental justice within the imagined futures for the Irish Dairy Sector. Previous research looked at CSA’s in Ireland. Following the MSc, she worked at environmental charities, volunteered in several food-based settings, and completed a certificate in work-based horticulture. She currently works at the British Academy, supporting fundraising for various programmes including research in the social sciences and humanities. In 2024, Meabh hosted a sold-out screening of the film ‘Six Inches of Soil’ in Peckham and chaired a panel discussion afterwards with local people working in the sector. Meabh volunteered at ORFC last year, and absolutely loved it.
Session Information:
Chair: Laura Stratford, Coordinator at Greater Lincolnshire Food Partnership
Panellists: 1. Gary Mitchell, County Councillor for Powys and a Lead Member of their Farm Estate Cabinet Advisory Group, Senior Manager of Social Farms and Gardens
2. Kim Graham, Research Coordinator at Shared Assets
3. Matthieu de Cointet, Co-director at Terre de Liens
4. Mazarine Girardin, undertaking a PhD with the City of Paris, focused on public farmland and public actions to mobilise it in alignment with food policy and to support access to land
5. Alice Martin-Prèvel, Terre de Liens and Access to Land network