Donatella Gasparro is a Master’s student of Organic Agriculture, from Italy. Photo: Sven Menschel
‘Last month we went on a very special field trip with the Organic Agriculture Master’s: we visited an urban farm that was started this year by a group of young people, including one of us, an MOA student. We had a delicious home-made lunch, competed in weeding contests and had a farm tour.
Young farmers
It was so cool to be given a tour by one of us on their brand new farm: it’s like seeing a bit of a common dream come true for us all through just one of us. We’ve been talking about this so much. It’s a good sign that farms like this exist, and that MOA students also take this path and directly put into practice what they’ve learned. Do we need more young farmers? Well, here they are. Do we need to connect cities and farms? They’re just outside Amsterdam. What more do we need? A lot of plans and creativity. And a pinch of courage.
Part of the solution
I see this as a success for my group and I’m so curious to see where we’ll all be in 5 to10 years. I imagine how we will spread all over the world, contribute to positive change, and be part of innovative and pioneering companies. Some will go back home, some will stay in the Netherlands. But wherever we end up, I’m sure we’ll all be part of the solution.’