Wageningen, The Netherlands
April 10, 2012
Wageningen UR has developed an ambitious multidisciplinary plan for sustainable food production on a 400 hectare site near Beijing. The project, known as Eco Valley, will also provide space for recreation and housing. COFCO, one of China's largest food companies, commissioned the project. The first scenario was presented in China in February. This is the largest project that Wageningen UR has been involved with in China.
Numerous disciplines come together in the Eco Valley project, ranging from protected and open field cultivation to forestry, floriculture, fruit cultivation and water management. Training future Eco Valley employees is also part of the plan. According to project leader Willie van den Broek of Food & Biobased Research, Wageningen UR is one of the few organisations that can implement such a multidisciplinary project. Wageningen UR was chosen from a total of five candidates, including the University of California at Davis (USA).
Currently, 90% of the vegetables for the more than 20 million consumers in Beijing are brought in at night from outside the region. In the coming years, Mayor Guo Jinlong wants more produce to originate from the immediate vicinity of the capital. COFCO is addressing this challenge in the Eco Valley project. The company wants to develop more than 700 hectares near the mega-city into a park where food can be grown and processed sustainably. Eco Valley will also provide housing and recreation for 60,000 people. The project will serve as a model for the development of similar parks in the vicinity of large cities in China.
Proven knowledge
In 2010, the Beijing office of Wageningen UR was approached by COFCO and the administrators of Beijing and was asked to think about planning the 400 hectare Eco Valley park. Project leaders Willie van den Broek of Food & Biobased Research and Xiaoyong Zhang of LEI, together with staff from the other Wageningen participants, prepared a draft plan for the park. Van den Broek: “China wants advice that is practical to implement, therefore with proven knowledge and technologies. There are only a few organisations that can offer that. For us as well, the cooperation between so many groups was rather unique. For example, Alterra became involved due to their expertise about water, and Van Hall Larenstein will provide training for the park employees.”
The first results were presented in China at the end of February. Almost simultaneously, Wageningen UR Chairman Aalt Dijkhuizen began talks to secure a broad framework of cooperation. The participants are now awaiting several decisions by the Chinese partners in order to finalise the plans. If that happens quickly, then vegetable production could begin as soon as this year.
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