The focus of my current work at Wageningen University & Research has since 2000 been the development of a new concept: metropolitan agriculture in which Agroparks play a central role. These are spatial clusters of agro production and processing that combine intensive plant- and meat and dairy production within the framework of industrial ecology. I have been working on the development of agroparks in metropolitan areas in Northwestern Europe and in China, India, Mexico, South Korea and Africa. A few of these designs are being implemented. In 2009 this work resulted in a PhD in Agricultural Sciences.
From 2004 to 2009 I have been part time project director in the TransForum innovation program on agriculture and sustainable development.
From 1996 to 2004 I have been head of the Landscape Department of Alterra, Wageningen UR. In this period the department grew from 25 to 240 scientific staff. I also have been involved in policy advising and in research and planning projects that aim amongst others at urban-rural relationships, the future of agriculture, and at integrated regional development.
Maaltijdsalades, verse sappen, verse kruiden en handig voorgesneden (soep)groenten: al jaren zijn ze niet meer weg te denken uit de supermarkt. Maar achter die kleine aankoop gaat een complexe en uiterst geavanceerde wereld schuil.
