Most arable farmers still pay

Most arable farmers have still fulfilled their obligation when it comes to the collective arable research 2018. BO Akkerbouw announced last week a bailiff to be sent to defaulters. This caused a lot of criticism on the forum of Boerenbusiness.

The criticism of sending a bailiff does not surprise Matthé Elema, the director of BO Akkerbouw. "It is known that certain companies do not agree with the way of working in the trade association. And that is precisely the reason that a general binding declaration has been created. If everyone would voluntarily contribute to the collective investigation, a compulsory charge is not necessary."

"Since this is a collective investigation, the results of which will be made available to the entire sector, everyone should participate." According to Elema, there is insufficient support for this for some critical arable farmers. An independent poll should show this, after which the levy must be lifted immediately in the event of a negative outcome. "This poll was already done when the application for the binding declaration was made to the minister," says Elema. "It clearly showed that there was hardly any objection."

Next step
According to Elema, this concerns 'only' about 100 companies that until last week had not yet complied with the obligation to provide data and to contribute financially to the collective investigation. "Out of a total of more than 10.000 companies, that's not much. Yet there are still too many. We want everyone to participate and see it as our duty to ensure that."

The message about sending a bailiff has paid off in that respect. "Most arable farmers had not intentionally failed to fulfill their obligations or had missed the provision of data or payment for various other reasons. These arable farmers have now done so. The group who now refuse can expect a next step," reports Elema, who meaning a lawsuit.

Better communication
The biggest criticism is that the arable farmers would not see what the collective research yields them. Elema admits that communication can always be improved, but that arable farmers are informed. "We have the BO Akkerbouw website for this, among other things, and we send newsletters. The results are shared on Kennisakker.nl. That website is now being redesigned to provide better insight into studies, also from years ago. We also call on arable farmers to submit proposals for the research. Farmers decide for themselves what the funds are spent on."

Jeanette Pennings

Jeannet has her roots in the flower bulb sector and she grew up on an agricultural company in the northern part of North Holland. As a generalist she reports for Boerenbusiness across all sectors. She is also exploring the possibilities of sponsored advertising.

j.pennings@boerenbusiness. Nl

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