Metropolitan Food Clusters: The Strategic Capacity of Regional Economic Clusters

Alwin Gerritsen, Roald Plug, Remco Kranendonk (Wageningen UR) & Arnoud Lagendijk (Radboud University Nijmegen)

TCI Global Conference, 4 September, 2013, Kolding, Denmark

Research focus

Clusters as regional ecosystems

●Fixed attributes and generic outcomes

● Globalization

● The region as a strategic opportunity

Cluster development as a strategic, relational and visionary activity

●How does cluster development function in this approach?

Metropolitan Food Clusters (MFC)

●6 examples (Netherlands, China, India & Mexico)

The Metropolitan Food Clusters concept

Development of a sustainable and efficient agro and food systems in regional clusters

●Growing middle class, urbanization & rural collapse

●Climate change

●Diminishing stock of natural resources

Industrialisation, economies of scale and intensification

Farmers Collection Points

Collection Centres

Primary processing Centres

Distribution

Domestic markets

Export markets

Retail

Metropolitan Food Clusters

Primary \production

鬲湖Gehu Lake

Eco-Agro sightseeing district (Agropark)

Central residents and service district

Green environment industrial district

Ecological recreation district

WAZ-Holland Park, Changzhou, China

MFC as a system innovation

1. Resource use efficiency

● Industrial ecology

2. Intelligent agro logistics

3. Vertical integration

4. Horizontal integration

● Plant & animal

5. Institutional

● Governance

● Knowledge management

Vertical integration in ‘New Mixed Company’

Horizontal Integration in ‘Biopark Terneuzen’

Agricultural production through industrial ecology connected to agro-industry

Focus on sustainable bio-energy production

In operation

Yara fertiliser production

200 ha Greenhouses

Nedalcobio-ethanol

Heroswastewatercleaning

BiomassaUnie

co-digester

Roosendaal Energy Biodiesel

Pro

ces & w

astewater

Proces & wastewater

heat

heat

Proce

s & w

aste

wat

er

CO2 CO2

Biomas

s was

te

Biomass waste

Bio

ma

ss w

ast

e

Sub

stra

te

Pow

er

Heat

The concept in practice

A coalition of government agencies, businesses and/or knowledge holders start a cluster initiative

MFC as a strategic, guiding and unifying concept

External organizations (KENGi) are drawn into the regional processes

●To empower and to organize cluster development activities

●Knowledge, technology, and facilitation capabilities

Activities

‘Road shows’: awareness raising

Feasibility studies

Masterplanning (co-design)

Community formation: engagement, alignment and creativity

Joint fact finding: excursions

Establishing connections with other trajectories

Network meetings for matchmaking (B2B)

Implementation and investments

Reflexive action: making adjustments ‘on the way’

Strategic coupling with MFC communities

EIP Agricultural productivity and sustainability

●EU

●Operational Group on MFCs

Climate KIC MFC Community (EU)

MFC CoPs in the Netherlands and Mexico

Regional attributes matter

Path dependencies

●Evolution

Social & institutional foundations

●Absorptive capacities

●Values and actor relations

Conclusions

Strategic clustering is about a strategic decision and about establishing cluster factors to become a ecosystem

●Strategic coupling with external networks and trajectories

●Engaging in a reflexive visioning process

●Building on the existing attributes and foundations

‘Strategic capacity’ as a guiding principle for cluster policies

●Enhancement by facilitation and knowledge activities

●Reflexive action

Thank you for your attention!

Questions / comments?