Deputy Willemien Meeuwissen has presented three so-called Value Rings at the end of the Dutch Food Week in Drenthe. Alie Jobing-Buurman, Jan van Goor and the Farms Bicycle Puzzle Tour team from the Beleef Beilen foundation won prizes.
The Value Rings were awarded for the first time last year. They end up with people who try to strengthen the bond between farmer and citizen and tell the story about our food.
The ceremony was held today in Grolloo at the farm of Alie Jobing-Buurman, one of the winners. She is a dairy farmer and has an arable farm. Tours are given at this farm, there is a milk tap and meat from our own cattle is sold. They also sell regional products from fellow entrepreneurs.
“These tours are certainly necessary, because few citizens nowadays know what goes on on a farm. People learn a lot from such a tour,” says Jobing-Buurman. “And by offering our products directly to the consumer, we make the chain as short as possible. We notice that local products are greatly appreciated.”
Jan van Goor also received a Value Ring today. He has been involved in the South West Drenthe Area Cooperative from the start and is a source of information for entrepreneurs and organizations from various sectors. Together with his team, he carries out various projects in the field of food and sustainability.
According to Van Goor, the distance between farmer and citizen has increased in recent years. “Everything has been scaled up so much. The connection is gone, you used to have a butcher, a baker and a greengrocer in a village. But that is often no longer there. Now people buy something in the supermarket and they read on the packaging that it comes from is from Kenya or Peru. We are of course an exporting country, but there must be balance. That is a quest.”
The third Value Ring went to the Farms Bicycle Puzzle Tour team. “Every Whit Monday we organize a puzzle tour through Drenthe along farms. They open the doors to receive people and tell them about their farms. In this way we bring the farmer and the citizen closer together,” explains Ilse Seubring on behalf of the organization of the farm. event out.
“You are also given real puzzle questions and the answers can be found on the farms. For example, if you visit a dairy farm, the questions are about that. We also have questions along the way that have to do with the area or region in question. At the end of the day you will be much wiser.”