ENTERPRENEURSHIP and urban agriculture

Entrepreneurship and urban agriculture

The course is structured in 4 sessions:
 
Session 1 - Urban agriculture, economic challenges and entrepreneurial dynamic (3h)
The session presents the changes of the socioeconomic system and the current challenges (such as the transition, the sustainable development) in order to develop a critical reflection on the raisons d'être and on the economic roles of the urban and peri-urban agriculture in this context. The session also provides the opportunity to define what an economic project is and how to characterise an entrepreneurial dynamic.
 
Session 2 - Business models in urban agriculture (3h)
The session aims to define what the business model of an enterprise is. It also highlights the 4 or 5 typical business models in urban agriculture in order to explore, relying on case studies, the following questions: what is a cost structure? How do we cover or who is covering those costs? How do we create value? How do we share that value?
 
Session 3 - The institutional landscape of urban agriculture (3h)
The session aims to draw the institutional landscape of urban agriculture in Belgium (especially in the French-speaking part) in order to better understand who/where the potential stakeholders are. The session also permits to better understand what are the expectations/demands that those actors can have towards projects in urban and peri-urban agriculture but also what type of resources they could put at the disposal of those projects.
 
Session 4 - Presentation of students' works (3h)
The session is dedicated to the presentation of the participants' works. Relying on the analytical tools acquired in the first sessions, the participants will be asked to realise a critical analysis of the business model of their own personal project (if relevant) and of an existing similar project.

The professionals of urban agriculture

This module is designed to link the participants of the training with UA professionals. They will come from different horizon to represent the diversity of the businesses of urban agriculture. These professionals will have to explain their activities and to make available their experiences to the participants in the field.

Personal project

It comes to develop theoretically (or from a personal project) a project in urban agriculture taking into account all the knowledge and outcomes learned during training

Entrepreneurship and urban agriculture

The objective of the module is threefold:

•  To raise the participants' awareness of the changes of the transformation of the socioeconomic system and of the current challenges to develop their critical reflection on the raisons d'être and the economic roles of urban and peri-urban agriculture in this context;
• To identify and understand the typical business and organizational models in urban agriculture
• To develop the analytical capacity of the participants to support them in implementing innovative business models that permit to develop an economic project in urban agriculture

The professionals of urban agriculture

The objectives are:
- To grasp the opportunities and constraints to develop commercial activity in urban agriculture by sharing the experience of professionals in the sector

Personal project

Autonomaus for the development of project in urban agriculture

Entrepreneurship and urban agriculture

Higher education diploma

Entrepreneurship and urban agriculture

This module relies on the following learning tools and methods:
 

• A 12-hours face-to-face course that focuses on interactivity and the development of a critical and reflexive position.
• Targeted readings to prepare each session and complementary readings to improve one's knowledge or go deeper into particular questions.

The professionals of urban agriculture

Evening workshop 2 x 3hours

Personal project

Personnal project

Entrepreneurship and urban agriculture

Face to face

The professionals of urban agriculture

Face-to-face (seminars)

Personal project

Personnal project

Entrepreneurship and urban agriculture

Informative list (to be completed).
 

• ASHOKA, 7 questions clés pour avoir les idées plus claires lorsque vous développez un projet d'intérêt général.
• Chapelle, G., Jolly, C.E. (2013), Etude sur la viabilité des business models en agriculture urbaine dans les pays du nord, Rapport pour le compte de l'IBGE.
• MERTENS, S. (2010), La gestion des entreprises sociales, Edi.Pro, Liège.
• NAHMIAS, P., LE CARO, Y. (2012), « Pour une définition de l'agriculture urbaine : réciprocité fonctionnelle et diversité des formes spatiales », Environnement Urbain / Urban Environment, vol. 6, p. a1-a16.

Entrepreneurship and urban agriculture

The participants will be evaluated upon the following criteria:

• Capacity to appropriate the acquired concepts and notions to conceive/analyse the business model of a urban agriculture project
• Capacity to build a critical reflection and to synthetize one's argumentation
• Capacity to integrate contextual elements in a critical reflection about the business model of urban agriculture projects

• A written exam aiming to verify the acquisition of the contents

The professionals of urban agriculture

Critic report of the seminaries

Entrepreneurship and urban agriculture

Prof. Sybille Mertens
HEC Management School, University of Liege
Sart Tilman B33 box 4
4000 Liege
smertens@ulg.ac.be
 
Julie Rijpens
HEC Management School, University of Liege
Sart Tilman B33 box 4
4000 Liege
julie.rijpens@ulg.ac.be

The professionals of urban agriculture

Prof. Jijakli
mh.jijakli@ulg.ac.be

Personal project

Prof. JIJAKLI Haissam ULg, Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech Bât. 47, avenue Maréchal Juin 5030 Gembloux +32 81 622431 mh.jijakli@ulg.ac.be