The farming system is in turmoil: extreme weather conditions, regulatory pressure, dependence on chemical inputs, soil impoverishment and the collapse of biodiversity... The model that feeds us, based on a globalised approach and the hyper-specialisation of crops and livestock, is out of breath and needs to be radically reinvented to ensure our food resilience. The "Ceinture Aliment-Terre de Liège" (CATL) was created in 2013 to federate, support and promote a sustainable local model. Are the results living up to expectations? Let's take a look at a project that is celebrating its tenth anniversary this year.
The initiative was born thanks to a panel of diverse but intrinsically linked actors bringing together citizens, the economic sector, the cultural sector and associations. Its objective? To reach 50% of local and healthy consumption in the territory of Liege and its surroundings. More food sovereignty, a strengthened economic and social fabric, sustainable practices, and ultimately, inhabitants benefiting from a better diet: a model revisited from farm to fork. Since its development, the platform has made it possible to map a large number of producers, processors and distributors. Training and study projects have been set up to support anyone wishing to get involved. In total, about fifteen new cooperatives as well as about seventy vegetable farmers in the province of Liège are now able to operate this belt. Other structures set up by the local authorities are lending a hand to this project: the 24 communes of the Liège Arrondissement are fully involved and the 20 French-speaking communes of the Verviers Arrondissement are providing their support through the development of the Verviers Food and Land Network.
Guided tour
A short tour of the Sainte-Walburge district of Liège. Here, the "Pousses Poussent" group of vegetable farmers came into being thanks to a special scheme known as Créafarm. Initiated by the Department of Economic and Territorial Development of the City of Liège, in partnership with the Ceinture Aliment Terre Liégeoise, this method gives access to communal land and allows the development of urban agriculture. For Pousses Poussent the principle is clear: 2/3 of the production is for local picking, meaning that any individual can come alone or with his or her family to harvest the produce grown by the vegetable farmers.
This individual harvesting model is called "Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)" and allows anyone to pay an annual and variable fee in exchange for collecting the harvest throughout the year. The last third is harvested by the vegetable farmers to be sold by the cooperative " Les petits producteurs " located one kilometre away.
In order to allow the producers to continue their activities during the winter, they also sell their goods in the cooperative's shops. How do they view their activity in retrospect? The financial reality is hard, they say, but the pleasure and interest in nature, in the people and in the local neighbourhoods are very much present.
Not far from there is a shop called "Les petits producteurs", a meeting point for short circuit enthusiasts. It is a place of conviviality and good humour. It is part of a network of grocery shops providing access to organic products at prices that are affordable for the majority of people. This distribution system allows consumers to get away from the logic of supermarkets and to ensure that vegetable farmers are properly paid. Four shops of this type have been set up and have created around twenty jobs. However, consumer habits in supermarkets have a long way to go and the model takes time to reach a critical mass of customers in order for it to be sustainable. One of the shops had to close its doors recently, and this fragility is a reality to be taken into account.
Direction: schools. Actions such as "Sustainable Canteens" and "Soup and Snacks" allow schools to buy directly from local structures but also to raise children's awareness of seasonal products. In the Liège region, 16 schools allow 3,800 children to receive a soup instead of their traditional sweet snack. These organic and local soups are produced just-in-time by two social economy training companies, CISP Échafaudage and Le Cortil. The preparations are then distributed by bicycle by a social economy association, Rayon 9, which specialises in urban cycle deliveries.
The effort to raise awareness does not stop with schoolchildren. For the past seven years, the "Nourrir Liège" ("Feed Liège") festival has been organised, bringing together more than 150 partners and offering a hundred or so activities in various places in the city. The 2023 edition included a "hand in the soil" workshop, collective workcamps, film-debates, conferences, markets and a closing forum.
Prospects in the face of gigantism
The health crisis of 2020 allowed producers to strengthen their ties with local consumers, who were forced to buy their supplies as close to home as possible. However, since the return to "normal", consumers have shunned short circuits. According to farmers, the situation is even worse than before. The creation of sustainable alternatives, while ultimately the only way forward, is far from being a smooth process. It requires constant involvement and effort from the various actors in order to sustain the momentum. Thus, to encourage the development of this sector, several Liège organisations offer continuous or part-time courses. Within the food belt, the Arlette project acts as a link between people who wish to train for the various professions that exist around sustainable food. In addition, a "Food Policy Council" was also created in December 2022 with 120 members from the public and private sectors. The aim is to set up food governance and to enable the various actors in the region to have sufficient foresight to work on the development of sustainable food.
It is by promoting the development of short, sustainable food chains that food sovereignty can be achieved.
It is also the sine qua non condition for the preservation of biodiversity, essential to maintaining our food resources. At a time when the IPCC report states that 3.3 to 3.6 billion people on Earth are vulnerable to climate change, repositioning agriculture at the centre of the debate and rethinking its functioning at the local level is essential to ensure a form of autonomy in the face of gigantism.
In figures
In figures
