The cultivation of seed onions is characterized by a clear trend. In the traditional cultivation areas in the south-west of the Netherlands, the acreage is declining and in the north-east of the Netherlands it is growing strongly. This is also noticeable this year. In Zeeland in particular, cultivation is on a slippery slope. Are Drenthe and Groningen growing along?
To visualize the movement per province, agricultural region and even municipality level, we use Farmer&Bunder. This online application provides insight into the parcel data of all agricultural parcels in the Netherlands, for which data from the Combined Statement is used.
Flevoland lead
The total acreage of onions this year amounts to 37.354 hectares, which is almost the same as the year before and 2.000 hectares more than in 2018. Almost three quarters of the acreage (27.218 hectares) is made up of seed onions. The province of Flevoland covers a quarter of this area. In 2019, the youngest province of our country reached its absolute peak for seed onion cultivation. This year the acreage will decrease by 200 hectares, to 9.295 hectares.
Zeeland is at number 2 in the list with a good 4.000 hectares. This is also where the seed onion area is falling the most, with 15%. That is good for almost 750 hectares less onions. It is not the largest decrease, but it is the third year in a row that the cultivation decreases. In 2017, the acreage reached a peak of 6185 hectares, only to decline thereafter. The cultivation lost 2.163 hectares over those years.
Significant regional shifts
In Groningen and Drenthe, cultivation is increasing again, by 9% and 19% respectively. This is not the largest increase, but it is very significant. In absolute hectares, the growth is less than the decrease in Zeeland. 2 hectares of seed onions were added in these 487 provinces this year.
For the greatest percentage growth, we have to go to Limburg. Almost a quarter more onions were sown there this year. 265 hectares were added, which means that the cultivation is now firmly above 1.000 hectares (1.336 hectares). Another striking decline is Noord-Holland, with 18,5% fewer seed onions. It has thus become the smallest player in seed onion cultivation of the arable provinces. Only in Utrecht, Gelderland and Overijssel are fewer onions grown.
Do second-year onion sets partially fill this gap? This year's acreage amounts to 6.484 hectares, which was 6141 hectares a year ago (+5,5%). Two provinces stand out: Zeeland and Noord-Holland. Especially in the latter, production increased by almost 40%. In Zeeland this is 8,5%, which makes it absolutely the largest onion set grower. Good for 3.076 hectares. Noord-Brabant comes in second with 2 hectares. Here, too, the acreage is increasing, by 2.174%. In Noord-Holland, the percentage is particularly high, bringing the total acreage to 6 hectares. It is also striking that relatively many onion sets are grown in Drenthe. Now almost 720 hectares. That step was mainly taken last season.
Difficult growing regions
The shift to more onion sets is a well-known movement in the onion world. Due to difficult growing conditions, seed onion cultivation has suffered damage in recent years. Especially in Zeeland, but also the Wieringermeer. Growers who continue to grow onions are more likely to switch to the more robust onion sets. In North Holland, cultivation is clustered in the Wieringermeerpolder, where growers have had to deal with extreme weather conditions.
This also applies to Zeeuws-Vlaanderen, where the area of onion sets has increased relatively much in Zeeuws-Vlaanderen. The municipalities here comprise 37% of the acreage this year, whereas last year it was 35% of the total area in Zeeland.
Back to the seed onions. In Limburg, cultivation increases the most in percentage, but where exactly in the province? In North Limburg, between Weert and Roermond, cultivation has clearly increased. This region – the municipality of Leudal – will see its onion acreage increase by no less than 66% this year. Growers in the south have also had to contend with extreme weather in recent years. Also this year again. There is no significant increase or decrease in cultivation.
Grow on sandy soil
In Drenthe, expansion of cultivation has been implemented integrally in the province, although the focus is on the municipalities of Emmen and Midden-Drenthe. With regard to Groningen, Het Hogeland still predominates, although a decrease in cultivation is visible this year. On 2 is the municipality of Westerwolde, where onion cultivation increased by 63%. Cultivation increased not only on the sandy soil. An increase of 20% in cultivation is noticeable in the Oldambt. In total, the acreage for seed onions on sandy soil has remained almost the same. This year, 17% of the acreage is on this soil type, compared to 18% last year and 11% in 2018.
The developments described in this article are especially visible in the last 3 years. The Zeeland onion acreage, for example, has gone from ups and downs to a sharp decline. This raises the question: where does it stop? The same applies to the growth in the northeast, where opportunities and space are still available in the building plan. The area of cereals in particular has had to lose due to the emerging onion cultivation. As long as cultivation continues to pay off, growth is plausible. In 3 years' time, a landslide in cultivation will be visible, with the area in Zeeland reaching 2.500 hectares and that of Drenthe at no less than 2.800 hectares.
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