More than just a factor in transition processes? The role of collaboration in agriculture - Transition Pathways towards Sustainability in Agriculture: Case Studies from Europe - page 87

grazing and cultivation. This management system results in a savannah-like landscape
(Pinto-Correia, 1993; Surová and Pinto-Correia, 2008).
In the Scottish context, machinery rings have been introduced as an innovative
mechanism in terms of institutional arrangements, but they have also introduced technical
innovations to facilitate sharing of resources amongst farmers. What makes the
Regionalwert AG socio-technically innovative in terms of collaboration is the newly
created (financial) linkage between shareholders and partner businesses: although distant,
the initiative enables shareholders to invest in organic farms and agri-food businesses,
meeting ecological and social requirements (organic certification) within the region.
Another innovative aspect of this particular initiative is its valuation which is not only
based on financial returns but also on social and environmental returns, reflecting the three
pillars of sustainability.
CRIE Montado: Collaborating for multifunctionality in the Montado silvo-pastoral
system (Portugal)
In October 2008 an international network was formed at the European Eemland Conference
'The European Versatile Countryside'. The network is dedicated to disseminating the
collaborative model in Jan Huijgen's conceptualization of multifunctional farms (Postema
and Ziel, 2008), put in practice in his Centre Eemlandhoeve. The collaborative model firstly
links local/regional thematic groups (e.g. milk producers, Montado owners) and then
networks them with existing groups at national and European levels. Acknowledging
multifunctionality is extremely hard to implement and cannot be faced by farm managers
alone, Huijgen's vision and associated collaborative model proposes to strengthen
multifunctional farms through multi-level networking and in this way, provide: (i)
reinforcement and mutual support; (ii) collaborative learning and sharing of information on
legislation, administrative processes, funding and markets; and (iii) lobbying and
communication as an interest group. Multifunctionality demands high versatility of farms
and farmers, and a high level of detailed knowledge and know-how in multiple activities
and specialized sectors at the same time, which can be addressed through collaborative
approaches.
One of CRIE Montado's members was part of the process and united a group of 12
farm entrepreneurs from his personal and professional network to establish CRIE Montado
in Portugal, based on geographical (Montemor-o-Novo and Alcácer do Sal) and interest
affinities (multifunctionality, environmental sustainability, the Montado system). A
collaboration agreement was made in February 2009, where the privilege of informality and
flexibility was defined. Members of the initiative met at informal meetings, where they
shared ideas and discussed difficulties and solutions. Some joint visits and training sessions
were conducted, as well as meetings with a few key regional and national institutions.
Through collaboration, information sharing and learning, experiences in diverse activities
suitable for the Montado system (from organic farming and cork exploitation to leisure,
tourism, rehabilitation centres, trekking and nature conservation activities) could be shared
amongst members. As a result of this process, new economic relationships were created,
such as joint marketing activities or trading between members. Besides this, the group
promoted greater flexibility and sensibility towards territories with similar conditions on a
few occasions.