'Results of research must end up on the property'

André Hoogendijk started on 1 September as the new foreman of BO Akkerbouw, which means that his first days as director of this sector organization are now over. Among other things, he wants to work on the visibility of the arable farming sector and cooperation within the chain.

For many arable farmers, Hoogendijk (37) a new face. He has been the deputy director of the Koninklijke Algemeene Vereeniging voor Bloembollencultuur (KAVB) for the past 5 years and is therefore making a switch from the oldest to the youngest agricultural association in the Netherlands. The brand new foreman is trained as a historian and agronomist. Due to his role at the KAVB, he is well acquainted with all challenges in the field of sustainability. "I am happy to take this experience with me. I believe in the strength of the Dutch arable farming chains. It is a sector to be proud of, and in which I still see plenty of opportunities."

What are the opportunities for arable farming?
"Proactively acting. Responding in time to changes in society, that benefits you in the longer term. As a sector you have to know how the outside world is doing. That means that you constantly have to stand with one foot in practice, but also should be in discussion with relevant parties outside the sector (such as the government and other organizations). I want to bring those parties together. On the other hand, it is extremely important to show the outside world what you do. The flower bulb sector has been strong there in recent years I see farming as a sleeping giant slowly awakening."

What are other spearheads within the trade association?
"Collaboration within the chain is a major challenge. There are many issues that we as a chain can tackle better together. For example, challenges in the field of crop protection. The restrictive package of resources affects not only cultivation, but also breeding, processing and trade. Such topics are too big and too important to tackle individually."

"I also want the arable farmers who receive an invoice from the trade association to clearly see what they get in return. The binding declaration is in place, the money is collected and is spent on useful research. The challenge is that all the results find their way to the farm's yard. entrepreneur; that knowledge is disseminated further and arable farmers get to work with it."

What has BO Akkerbouw achieved in its short existence?
"A strong foundation has been laid in 5 years. The greatest success is the realization of our binding declaration, with which collective money has been collected since 2018. A research and innovation program is now running, with which the arable farming sector is really at the forefront in agricultural Netherlands. sectors are looking at it with interest. We as a sector can be proud of that. In addition, in recent years we have worked on the Plant Health Action Plan and an important contribution has been made to the Climate Agreement."

What do you take away from the flower bulb world?
"I see a lot of crossovers between arable farming and the flower bulb sector. Many challenges are the same; think of themes such as crop protection and soil, but also phytosanitary requirements and deals with large retailers. There is a large overlap in these areas for all vegetable crops. So it's wise to explore where we can work together and learn from each other. Let's avoid duplication of research and innovation."

There is also some resistance among arable farmers against the trade association…
"That is not so bad when you look at the figures. There are 'only' a few dozen companies that have not paid. That is a small number of the 13.000 arable farmers. A large majority at the time agreed with the binding declaration. We also authorized us via the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO.nl) and paid the bill neatly. We are now going to work with the small group of non-payers and following a legal process."

What happens to the money raised by BO Akkerbouw?
"Every year we raise more than €3 million, which is exclusively spent on research and innovation. Arable farmers can put forward ideas for this themselves. A digital panel of 100 arable farmers has been set up and they assess these ideas. Research proposals are also discussed within the various committees. These results will become publicly available."

"However, the course of BO Akkerbouw is determined by the members of the association. These are Agrifirm Plant, Avebe, Cosun, CZAV, The Committee of the Grain Traders, Van Iperen, LTO Nederland, NAJK, NAO, NAV, Plantum and VAVI. I recently became acquainted with those 12 members. They represent the supporters and together they form a strong sound. I am very excited to get started with their issues."

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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