In this new episode of "Manger, c'est changer le monde", Arnaud Letailleur, Managing Director of Soliance Alimentaire, sheds light on project engineering, a seemingly complex but essential concept for accelerating the agricultural and food transition in territories.
Project engineering is a concept that may seem "barbaric" at first glance, but it is essential to support and implement the new solutions that will accelerate the agricultural and food transition. It consists in providing human and technical support to private or public initiatives, so that they can materialize on the ground.
It's a form of incubation for good ideas and projects, enabling territories to be at the forefront of the changes they need to make.
Project engineering is more than just a technical term, it's a global dynamic that needs to mobilize all local players in order to steer our future in the right direction.
It applies in particular to local authorities.
Local authorities are at the heart of project design and implementation. On the one hand, they have strong local roots, and on the other, they have a dynamic ecosystem made up of committed players in the field, such as incubators and gas pedals. The main challenge for these local authorities is to identify the most relevant projects and provide them with precise support.
Identifying the right projects involves evaluating :
The project engineering approach is designed to help local authorities move from idea to project, and then from project to implementation. It involves working with project leaders to identify the levers that need to be activated to support the emergence of local initiatives.
Numerous examples illustrate this approach.
RisingSUD is one of the most enlightening examples in terms of engineering. This economic development agency, based in the south of France and financed by the region, has considerable engineering capacity. Its aim is to encourage the emergence of structuring projects linked to the region's major sectors, operations of regional interest and the naturalness sector. It helps accelerate these initiatives, such as the Châteaurenard Provence MIN, which has benefited from this support to flourish.
The same applies to Compagnie des Amandes, which benefited from support to develop the local almond industry in France, which had previously been non-existent.
Since 2019, the State has been supporting the development of local initiatives through the Territoire d'Innovation program. This program finances local projects via the Banque des territoires. In the Pyrénées-Atlantiques region, for example, projects linked to agrivoltaics and the structuring of the flax industry have seen the light of day.
In Dijon Métropole, this program has also supported the emergence of food transition projects and start-ups, one of which recently raised significant funds: Food Pilote , which is developing a CSR scoring solution.
First of all, it's worth recalling what a PAT (territorial food project) is.
TAPs aim to bring local players together around the issue of food, taking into account various aspects such as social, environmental, economic and health concerns. Generally initiated by local authorities, they are based on a joint assessment of agriculture and food in the region, followed by the implementation of an action plan to achieve the project's objectives.
> Listen to episode n°5 of Manger c'est changer le Monde
In recent years, Soliance Alimentaires has contributed to the development of regional food strategies and the action plans that flow from these strategies. The next step, therefore, is of paramount importance, and lies in the concretization of these strategies and the implementation of these action plans. More specifically, it's a question of guaranteeing reliable, effective and sustainable execution of the planned actions, and ensuring that they generate the expected impacts. This is precisely the role of project engineering.
> Listen to episode n°11 of Manger c'est changer le Monde
The same question will arise with the French government's "France 2030" program program, which raises similar issues through its call for territorial demonstrators of agricultural food transitions.
At Soliance, our approach goes beyond consulting, as we are committed to the co-construction of projects . Our actions and practices must support the agricultural and food transition and be at the service of local communities.
To turn this vision into reality and implement the project engineering method in the field, the commitment of our consultants in the field is key. Our agronomic engineers have in-depth technical knowledge of local areas and the world of agriculture. They are able to identify and support initiatives aligned with the objectives of local authorities. They can lead direct interactions with the project leaders, entrepreneurs and managers of the semi-public companies that support these initiatives.
Soliance Alimentaire's "support system" means providing an operational presence and concrete support in the field.
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