PBL calls for an Agricultural Agreement

The Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (PBL) argues in its latest report 'Towards a beckoning perspective for Dutch agriculture' for an Agricultural Agreement. According to the planning bureau, the agricultural sector is facing hard limits. The organization will announce this on Tuesday 3 July.

The agricultural sector, according to the PBL, from one affair to another. In addition, farmers hardly have the space to develop their farms sustainable† "A change of course towards revenue models that are more sustainable for farmers and the living environment requires a broadly supported vision of the future. We therefore recommend that agreements about this be recorded in an Agricultural Agreement," the PBL said in a press release.

Income under pressure
With approximately 66% of the Dutch land area in use, agriculture is a major manager of the Dutch living environment. "After the Second World War, the motto 'Never hunger again' led to an intensification, increase in scale and cost reduction in agriculture. As a result, the sector in the Netherlands has developed into a highly productive, knowledge-intensive, internationally competitive sector," according to the PBL.

However, according to the planning office, this also has a downside. It ensures that the income of a large group of farmers has come under pressure and that the environmental targets are not achieved. In addition, farmers in the Netherlands often have to deal with scandals, such as the fipronil affair en manure fraud† "The policy responds to this with a system of specific regulations, but in recent years it has not been able to initiate the desired structural change," notes the PBL.

The increased dependence of the processing and supplying companies and the (policy) choices made in the past have narrowed the scope for real entrepreneurship. In addition, alternative revenue models are often regarded as relatively expensive and risky. "It means that continuing on the chosen path is often the only option."

Changes needed
In its report, the PBL sets a number of conditions for a change of course. The first is to develop and establish a shared vision of the future for the Dutch agricultural sector. "That requires a political negotiation about what our landscape, our food supply and our nature should look like and what we are willing to pay for this."

Secondly, the role of the national government must be reconsidered. This is because the coordination problems in a change of course are great and that requires a party that takes control and can shape cooperation. "Finally, a change can only take place with a new approach, aimed at developing other revenue models and dealing with losses," the PBL writes in its report.

View the full report here.

Kimberly Baker

Kimberly Bakker is an all-round editor at Boerenbusiness. She also has an eye for the social media channels of Boerenbusiness.

k.baker @boerenbusiness. Nl

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