Organic agriculture The Netherlands is growing, but lags behind the rest of Europe
Since 2015, 585 organic farms have been added in the Netherlands, according to Numbers which the CBS International Tuesday. There is talk of a different agricultural land, but in comparison with other agricultural land a lot. In 2020, 3.9 percent of all agricultural land in the Netherlands was used for organic farming. Compared to the frontrunner in Europe – Austria – this is not much: over a quarter of all agricultural land there is intended for organic use.
In terms of total agricultural production, the Netherlands is one of the European leaders, it turned out Numbers from Eurostat. It is not clear from the figures from Statistics Netherlands why the organic sector is lagging behind. Earlier, Bionext, the trade association for organic farmers, told NRC that a lack of perspective for farmers could play a role. Partly due to the choking crisis, it would be risky to switch to a more expensive organic production system.
The CBS income figures less than a month after a report by Johan Remkes on the nitrogen crisis. drafted, he advised to close 500 to 600 companies in the vicinity of vulnerable nature reserves within a year. This mainly concerns large livestock farms, which emit a lot of nitrogen. Organic farming could take place ‘very limited’ in the vicinity of Natura 2000 areas, Remkes thinks.
In organic farming, farmers do not use fertilizers, and there are strict rules for the use of pesticides and the living conditions of animals. A farmer who wants to label products as organic must first be certified.