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  • Local Authorities Making Farmland Work for the Public Good
  • About
  • Manifesto: Land in the Public Interest
  • I. Acting as an owner and manager of public land
    • Strategise
    • Manage
    • Invest
    • Share
  • II. Acting as a facilitator of the local land system
    • Provide data
    • Raise awareness
    • Convene
    • Intermediate
  • III. Acting as a regulator and making local land policies
    • Plan
    • Administer
    • Catalyse
    • Advocate
  • Practical resources to get started
    • Some key principles and first steps
    • Surveying and decision-making tools
  • Bibliography
    • France
    • Belgium
    • Spain
    • United Kingdom
    • Germany
    • Romania
  • Case Studies
    • The City of Leuven allocates public land to sustainable farmers
    • The City of Ghent’s vision on public farmland
    • Mouans-Sartoux: from organic food for schools to land and food policy
    • Ohey municipality: distributing public agricultural land more equitably among farmers
    • Inclusive farm to fork food aid in Florennes, Walloon Region
    • The Cooperativa Co.R.Ag.Gio (Cooperativa Romana Agricoltura Giovani) and renewed uses of public farm
    • Red Terrae: the network of municipalities working for sustainable land use
    • Boscos de Pastura: using grazing for wildfire prevention
    • Stewardship and management of common pastures in Romania
    • Glasgow City Council and the Glasgow Community Food Network Case study
    • Cornwall Council’s Farms Strategy
    • The Grenoble Alpes Métropole land policy
    • Remobilising abandoned lands in Moëlan-sur-Mer
    • Acting on farmland at the department level: land banking and plots exchange in Ille-et-Vilaine
    • Agricultural Programme of the City of Hannover - agricultural policy at municipality level
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II. Acting as a facilitator of the local land system

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Last updated 1 year ago

Key messages:

  • Local authorities have the necessary legitimacy and knowledge to facilitate dialogue around land

  • Expanding the community of people involved in land issues will support the transition to a more regenerative system

Local authorities are first-hand witnesses of changing landscapes and land dynamics. They observe what type of agriculture is practised in their area, land transfers and who they benefit, trends in urban sprawl and land prices, and so on. By gathering and centralising information on this, they can catalyse action towards better local land stewardship. Local governments also have the necessary legitimacy, knowledge of stakeholders, and convening powers to coordinate efforts, organise local dialogue and connect actors on agriculture, food, and land issues. Encouraging more open governance of land can be a powerful lever to:

  • fight opacity on land transfers and market dynamics that favour larger farms;

  • connect actors that do not know each other, and create more synergies for access to land;

  • co-construct decisions that affect land, and therefore create co-responsibility with local owners, farmers, inhabitants to steward the land;

  • rebalance power by opening decision processes to people or organisations that do not traditionally take part in institutional processes that affect land;

  • increase the awareness and skills of people/organisations that own or manage land;

  • support organisations or projects that aim to protect farmland or provide access to it for disadvantaged groups.

How should I involve citizens in deciding on policies that affect land? Can local authorities facilitate land leases to agroecological farmers? Can they support farm succession? Check the infographic for a quick overview of how to act, and read the sections below for more information on , , , and relationships around land.

providing data
raising awareness
convening
intermediating
How can local authorities facilitate robust local land systems? Watch the video for a quick overview and read below for more information !
Infographic: Acting as a facilitator of the local land system
Infographic: Acting as a facilitator of the local land system