Some key principles and first steps
Last updated
Last updated
Key principles to consider for local authorities
Before you start, establish your ways of working:
Allow adequate time for bringing all the relevant parts of the local authority together - be willing to be a champion
Be willing to share power: with the local community, other local landowners, farmers, civil society organisations
If you can advocate for money to support this process, then do - the more flexibility and resource you have, the easier this will be
As you begin, streamline objectives:
Observe and gather information from a variety of sources - try to find shared goals and areas of consensus in the diagnosis of needs and priorities
Define objectives that are easy to explain - a clear and consistent message will facilitate your work in the long term
Over time, cultivate resilience:
Give yourself time and the right to experiment - trials and errors are numerous in tackling land issues
Work with conviction and strong political will: it is best to anticipate difficulties and opposition and plan ahead how you will respond to these
a- learn about who takes part in the zoning negotiations and their interests
b- think about who in the local authority needs to be involved in these discussions. Paul’s most important role could be as a internal broker between all of the different interests within the local authority
c- gather prior information on local land (existing studies on the local agriculture, existing objectives regarding curtailing land loss or tackling climate change)
d- gather priori information on legal possibilities to protect land through zoning, and examples of towns who have done it
a- evaluate whether the municipal land is fit for vegetable growing (type of soil and fertility, existence of infrastructure like greenhouses/irrigation/storage buildings)
b- evaluate the costs, infrastructure and practices needed to enable the school canteen to start preparing meals from scratch using fresh vegetables
c- reach out to community and civic society organisations who may be interested in managing the land or being involved with growing
d- reach out to local farmers and skilled growers for advice on business models
a- survey the farmers on their current use of the lands held in common
b- make data publicly accessible on common land available
c- engage the local administration - specifically the local council - to establish specific local measures which support new entrants, the safeguarding of common land and animal husbandry as agricultural activity of the community
d- mediate the relationship between new entrants and the local community who are the stewards of the commons
1 - I am Maria, a staff member in an inter-municipal structure. I want our next land local zoning plan to better safeguard agricultural land.
2 - I am Paul, a council member in a small town. I want to use the 4 hectare plot of municipal land to produce vegetables for the local school.
3 - I am Joanna, a recently elected mayor in a rural village. I want to facilitate access to pasture lands held in common by residents to new entrants.
Maria’s first steps could be…
Paul’s first steps could be…
Joanna’s first steps could be…
Put land on the agenda (of your internal meetings, of exchanges with constituents, of the next discussion with other local authorities…)
Make a quick research about organisations that work on land in your country/region, contact them to know if they have tools to support local authorities.
Support collectives and organisations working on land, even if only by providing them a municipal room to meet or by putting them in touch with relevant actors.
If you have relevant data on the land or agricultural market, or knowledge of a land opportunity, share it (with potential new farmers).
Seize opportunities! E.g. if a farmer is nearing retirement connect them with a candidate successor; if a lease is ending on a public farm try to encourage a sustainable project with the new lease; if a cheap or strategic plot is up for sale, acquire it or tell an ethical land trust or new farmer about it.
