Closer to the Netherlands, let’s get started with organic
In recent years it has been ‘circular agriculture’ that has been the thing in The Hague. With the arrival of the Rutte III cabinet, Carola Schouten took over as minister at the helm of the newly formed Ministry of Agriculture, Nature Quality (LNV). This cabinet has focused strongly on this from the start, but little attention has been paid to specific agriculture.
‘Since 2011, hardly anything has been done about organic from The Hague’, says project leader Chris Koopmans of the Louis Bolk Institute. He was project leader at the institute for the creation of the ‘SWOT Analysis of Organic Farming with Stimulation Opportunities‘. This strengths-weaknesses analysis of the organic farming sector in the Netherlands was sent to the House of Representatives at the beginning of this month.
Strategic vision
Currently, the Ministry of LNV on a National Strategic Agriculture that works in the second quarter of 2022 is displayed. The SWOT analysis is input for this. Tjeerd de Groot (D66) and Derk Boswijk (CDA) that organic should be given a prominent role in the National Strategic Plan of the Common Agricultural Policy.
avoid biological constraints, future that innovation, look for other solutions
Director Michaël Wilde of Bionext sees that there is now a turning point in politics in The Hague. On the one hand, this is due to the European Union’s objective in the farm-to-fork strategy. to be determined by the House of Representatives. ‘They are more likely to adopt motives to encourage organic farming,’ says Wilde.
Taken as an example the director of Bionext hired motive of the House of Representatives Laura Bromet (GroenLinks) and Caroline van der Plas (BBB) who calls on the government to discover how the government can increase the purchase of Dutch organic products by looking at the tender requirements.
Circular agriculture
‘Over the past few years, the government had given top priority to grassland farming, but organic farming was barely mentioned. I indicated to Schouten that she could cite organic agriculture as an example of circular agriculture. Circular agriculture ‘like’ organic agriculture. Then you make it much more concrete’, says Wilde.
‘A consumer does not use circular agriculture on the shelf of the store, but organic does. Moreover, it is known both nationally and internationally. That is also interesting for farmers and an advantage.’
Resistance
The director of Bionext sees that circular agriculture is often referred to as circular agriculture because it is much broader than just organic. ‘The idea is that you appeal to a lot more farmers with that. Organic also often evokes resistance in the agricultural sector. I don’t think we should think in it. Organic farmers can learn a lot from conventional and vice versa. Organic is not a threat, but just one of the forms of future-oriented agriculture.’
Compared to the rest of Europe, the organic area in the Netherlands is not that much yet. In 2020 this was 4.1 percent compared to 8.5 percent on average in the European Union (EU). Austria leads the way with more than 25 percent being organic, but also based on countries higher.
Ambitious challenge
The European Commission wants 25% of the European agricultural area to be organic by 2030. In view of the current developments, this is not the case for the Netherlands, Wilde also sees. ‘In the EU, the organic area is now more than 8 percent. Until 2030, that is 8 percent times 3. In the Netherlands we are now between 3.5 and 4 percent. So if we multiply that by 3, we arrive at between 10 and 15 percent acreage in 2030. That is already an ambitious challenge.’
The main thing for Bionext is that the revenue model for existing organic farmers and horticulturists should not be put under pressure by the arrival of new entrepreneurs and new territory. ‘It really starts on the demand side’, says the director. “We have a ten-point plan playing as Bionext. The first four action points are about increasing market demand. You can’t just leave that to the free market. You really need the government for that.’
Delete VAT
If it is up to Bionext, the government should actively inform consumers about what biological content is, what the added value is. VAT should help to stimulate demand for organic products and ‘true cost pricing’ should help ensure that the social costs of cheaply produced food are included in the price. Another proposal is that ‘public kitchen’ will be serving portions in the restaurants of government organizations from 2026
According to Bionext, Denmark shows that such a stimulating policy can be successful. The Danish government promotes, among other things, a paid quality mark for public kitchens and catering, with a variant of gold-silver-bronze. This quality mark indicates to what extent the services provided consist of organic products. In 2017, the share of interests in public kitchens in Copenhagen – nine hundred in total – was 89 percent.
Largest market share
While Austria is the European country with the largest organic area, Denmark is the country with the largest market share (12.1 percent). Switzerland and Austria follow with 10.4 and 9.3 percent market share.
In Austria, the alpine landscape lends itself to organic farming. In addition, the Austrian population is environmentally conscious according to Bio Austria, the chain organization for Austrian agriculture. The government values the landscape and produced sustainable food.
On the way to PlanetProof
According to Wilde, there is also a greater interest in sustainably produced food among Dutch consumers. ‘I also think that a quality mark like On the way to PlanetProof is increasingly becoming a requirement on Dutch products. there is more of a shift, that the lower limit is higher. The differences with bigger are getting smaller.’
Food will become more expensive. What does that mean for people with a small purse? ‘It is true that you have to pay attention to that,’ says the director of Bionext. ‘But the Dutchman should pay a little more for his food. The Dutch pay the least for food with the Portuguese. It shouldn’t just be about the wallet either. It is also important to manage the earth well and leave it well for later generations. More and more people are aware of this.’
Opportunities and aspiration
The SWOT analysis lists both opportunities as threats to organic production in the Netherlands. The demand for organic products is an important opportunity and driving factor behind the organic sector, the Louis Bolk Institute. Focus on more points, in which not only the retail segment is served, but also, for example, healthcare institutions and canteens, is selling the growth.
The researchers at the Louis Bolk Institute also issue a warning. Too much resemblance to increasing organic production through subsidies can quickly lead to an imbalance between supply and demand. A stable and stable government policy is needed, with support for multiple objectives aimed at compensating for the sector and stimulating growth.
Own regional product
Growing attention abroad for its own regional product means that Dutch products are dynamically dependent on exports. ‘In the Netherlands it is really limited for the origin of the products,’ the report states.
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Future of Agriculture
The role of farmers and horticulturists in our society and the importance of their own food production are under discussion. In the series ‘Future of agriculture’, Nieuwe Oogst explores the subject in greater depth. What does the future of agriculture look like and what place do farmers and horticulturists find in the changing society? The series is not intended to predict the future, but to offer mindsets on agricultural reform, globalization, regionalization, health and technology. Follow the stories via Nieuweoogst.nl/toekomst.
The project leader of the Louis Bolk Institute thinks that if the Dutch have an infrastructure for going organic, the future of organic could also go fast.
Agricultural infrastructure
‘Now the sector is focused on producing as efficiently as possible and on exporting products. The knowledge and the supplying companies are there. We have a well-organized agricultural infrastructure. That is one of the strengths of Dutch agriculture. That can be an advantage if we want to go for organic, if we have passed that threshold.’
Koopmans believes that the demand for organic products should primarily be developed from the Dutch and European market. ‘Products that are sold on the global market, such as gate potatoes, are therefore less suitable.’
innovation
The project leader of the Louis Bolk Institute thinks that innovation is important for the organic sector. Innovation and organic are often not associated with each other. But once to water to mechanization is necessary for biological to control weeds. Stimulating organic can have an agenda-setting effect. You have to think about opportunities and not threats.’
Wilde agrees that innovation is important for the organic sector. ‘This means that the organic sector can also be of significance for the agriculture that is used, because it also has to produce with less crop protection and fertilizer. Innovation for organic is sometimes different than people think. We stick to our principles. Gene technology, for example, is not one of those. But it is precisely based on organic farming that there are conditions, that innovation, to look for other solutions.’
Fewer biological switches
In 2020, almost 23 percent fewer farms have switched to organic than a year earlier. This is apparent from the trend report of chain organization Bionext. It is the fourth year in a row that fewer farmers are switching. Flevoland is the province in the Netherlands with the highest percentage of agricultural area that is organic (14.5 percent). In 2020, Friesland was the province with the most hectares in conversion (923 hectares). The share of organic in Dutch supermarkets was 3.26 percent last year.