Background Agrifirm Youth Day
Why Schouten reaches out to young farmers
On Wednesday 10 January, Minister Carola Schouten (Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality) presented the Asset-Enhancing Loans Guarantee Scheme (VVK). At Agrifirm's Youth Day, she explained the scheme in more detail and discussed other current issues.
The cabinet has earmarked €75 million for the Warranty scheme VVK† The scheme should make it more attractive for financiers to provide loans to young farmers who want to take over or start a business. Schouten says that banks often do not want to provide loans to young farmers, mainly because this entails too great a risk. The government wants to remove this risk with the VK Guarantee Scheme.
Business Acquisition Process
"In addition, the acquisition process is a tricky point for many young entrepreneurs, especially in the financial field. As a result, Dutch family businesses are going under," said Schouten. "That is why part of the money is used to training and coaching process to set up, for example to facilitate 'kitchen table conversations' in family circles."
There is also room for other things in this process. "When you take over, you in fact determine your parents' pension. You often also have to deal with brothers and sisters who also want to inherit a part. And maybe you have a different business in mind. How are you going to put that into words? The coaching process should help young entrepreneurs with these questions," says Schouten. The minister reports that the aim is to introduce the scheme before the summer.
Making the sector more sustainable
Schouten also discussed the fact that supermarkets have to adapt. Earlier on she already said that the ministry is in talks with the supermarkets. "We want to see how the supermarkets can contribute to accelerating the sustainability of livestock farming. We are also looking at what we can achieve at European level," the minister said.
In the same talks with the European Union, the prevention of unfair competition is also discussed. The minister wants to prevent other countries from being able to produce at a lower cost without having to take sustainable measures. "As a result, the Dutch products would be sidelined."
According to Schouten, there is an increasing demand for sustainability, also from other EU countries. "This is important for the Netherlands, because 70% of our agricultural production crosses the border. If you choose not to innovate and become more sustainable, you may miss the boat", the minister finally tells the young farmers.
Tim Roetman
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