site.btaTroyan Organic Farming Project among EU Organic Awards Finalists

An organic farming project in the small north-central town of Troyan is among the finalists of the EU Organic Awards in the category for best organic city. It competes for the award with the city of Vienna and the municipality of Seeham am Obertrumer See in the Austrian province of Salzburg. The winner will be announced on 23 September, EU Organic Day.

The Troyan project

Troyan has built this country's first municipal farm complex of organic greenhouses, orchards and apiaries focused on soil and water conservation. The products are used for the local kindergarten canteens and retirement homes. The focus is on short supply chains and healthy food for children.

The initiative comes in implementation of a local programme for child and youth health care, Troyan Mayor Donka Mihailova told BTA a while back.

The project has two orchards, hothouses and a vegetable garden.

Troyan has plenty of municipal land and available workforce. Before starting the project, the town studied the experience of a French municipality and consulted partners in Italy.

One orchard is 0.3 ha and has been planted with 556 apple saplings which are expected to produce some 10 tonnes of apples a year. The municipality has calculated that the kindergarten children need about seven tonnes. There is also an orchard with the emblematic local fruit, plums. The 0.3 ha orchard was planted about five years ago and is expected to produce between 900 and 1,500 kg of fruit a year.

All this is in the care of a horticulturist with gardeners and workers of the municipal community service company lending a hand when there is more work, including the planting or harvesting periods. 

Even the municipal administration takes part sometimes, the mayor said.

A total of 750 children are enrolled in the kindergartens in Troyan municipality.

The competition

Vienna currently holds the presidency of the “Organic Cities Network Europe” and is part of the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact. The city’s food action plan fosters sustainable organic production and consumption
Some of its measures include a new nutrition strategy, more organic food in communal catering, training and environmental counselling for companies. 17% of the city’s area is used for agriculture, 35% of which is organic. Almost 30% of all farms have switched to organic production. 50% of all food served in the city’s canteens is organic, and 60% is produced locally. The city itself runs and urban farm that is 90% organic, according to the project factsheet for the competition.
 
Seeham is also part of the “Organic Cities Network Europe”. The “Biodorf Seeham” involves 33 organic farms, organic local suppliers, organic producers and an organic dairy. All local schools and kindergartens serve organic lunches, and 100% of the food in the city’s public canteens is organic and 70% is local. The local organic shop is a key partner that enables the city to procure regionally and seasonally, delivering food in electrical vehicles. The town developed a bee adventure trail through 3000 sq m of flowering areas and a community garden. An important focus is raising awareness about quality food and creating local jobs.