News General Audit Chamber
'Tasks unclear in case of a food crisis'
The Court of Audit has mapped out which strategic buffers the government maintains. Those buffers are not always present. For example, unlike Germany and Switzerland, the Netherlands has no strategic food stock. The Netherlands can produce enough food itself, but situations are conceivable (such as major droughts or floods) that make food production difficult or even impossible, the Court of Audit writes in its report. research report.
According to the Court of Auditors, the corona pandemic and the war in Ukraine have shown that raw materials and essential products can become scarce. A food security handbook and a food distribution agreement between the government and the market are in preparation. According to the report, there is a lot of uncertainty about the first food emergency aid. It is not clear which authorities should do what and when. Ministry employees indicate to the Court of Audit that much still needs to be done to cope with a possible food crisis.
According to research by Wageningen University & Research, the Netherlands can in principle produce sufficient food itself by adjusting its diet. This is also apparent from data in the graph above from the FAO statistics office. The report shows that the Minister of LNV does not analyze the risks of major drought or flooding on food security. "For example, if the Netherlands were under water, the inhabitants would be dependent on foreign (emergency) aid for food," according to the Court of Audit.
In Germany, which is less self-sufficient than the Netherlands, the government has built up strategic food stocks. According to the German government, reacting quickly to food shortages is only possible if a stock is always available, according to the report. This concerns ready-to-use products such as rice, pulses, milk powder and condensed milk, and products that still need to be processed such as wheat, rye and oats. With this buffer, every resident can eat at least one meal a day during a crisis. Switzerland is highly dependent on imports. The stocks there consist of rice, sugar, edible oils and fats, coffee, grains and animal feed. The Swiss buffer is enough for two to four months.
Apart from food, there is also no strategic stock of gas. In addition, according to the Court of Auditors, there has been little progress in designating national groundwater reserves. Furthermore, there is currently no national oil crisis plan available, as there is for gas and electricity. There are operational and strategic stocks of petroleum, medicines, medical devices and cash.
Threatening diesel shortage could affect agriculture
The Ministry of Economic Affairs expects that there could be a diesel shortage in the Netherlands due to sanctions against Russia. According to the Court of Audit, the transport and logistics sector and agriculture could run into problems as a result. Diesel is also important during a crisis, for example to keep the food supply going and to keep emergency generators working.
Linda van Eekeres
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