With soy statement
The Netherlands reaffirms its raw material ambition
The Netherlands, together with 12 other EU member states, will sign a 'soy declaration' in Brussels on Monday. With this statement, the countries underline their ambition to become less dependent on soy imports and to encourage non-GMO cultivation in their own country. The statement also applies to other protein crops.
At the EU Council of Agriculture Ministers in mid-June, Germany and Hungary called for the signing of an EU soy declaration. This statement was already widely supported at the time. The official signatures will be placed on Monday 17 July. 13 Member States are calling for a reduction in the shortage of vegetable protein by importing less and growing more protein crops themselves. That should make agriculture more sustainable, say the initiators.
Fighting deforestation and GMO
European cultivation only revolves around non-genetically modified soy varieties. This is a bottleneck for imports, which mainly come from the US and South America. In South America, jungles are being cleared to grow soy. That is also a thorn in the side of the EU countries. Not all member states support the plan to grow raw materials locally.
Green Deal
Last September, the Ministries of Economic Affairs and Infrastructure & the Environment jointly signed an initiative, together with Agrifirm, to grow 10.000 hectares of soybeans in the Netherlands. This 'Green Deal Soy in the Netherlands' is a first step towards the soy declaration. Supplier Agrifirm has been trying for years to put soy cultivation underfoot in our country, with varying degrees of success. For example, the acreage of soya fell in 2016. It is not known how much it will be in 2017.
Deal with Alpro
The three northernmost provinces of the Netherlands; Drenthe, Groningen and Friesland are earmarked for soy cultivation. Here, cultivation fits best into the cropping plans of arable farmers and livestock farmers. In addition, Agrifirm has agreements with food producer Alpro, which use the Dutch soy to make soy milk. The company recently announced that it would also use locally grown soy in Belgium. The Alpro factory is located near our southern neighbors.
Looking for early varieties
Cultivation has two major bottlenecks in our country. There are no early ripening varieties available and the yield is on average not at a profitable level. However, there is a big difference between the best and worst 25%, Agrifirm's experiences show. The soybean harvest is a problem in a wet autumn. This only takes place in October, which means that the demand for early varieties is high. Wageningen University & Research, together with the supplier, is developing new varieties that are suitable for Dutch conditions.
Import versus production
According to the soy statement, the EU imports more than 36 million tons of soybeans and derived products every year. European production amounts to 960.000 to almost 2 million tons. Soy is grown on an increasingly large scale, especially in Central and Eastern Europe. Among other things, through the Danube Soy initiative. Agrifirm is not the only Dutch company pioneering with soy, but it is the largest. For 2017, it budgeted 500 hectares of cultivation. A soy pool has been created for this purpose, which is comparable to the grain pool. In addition to the northern provinces, farmers elsewhere in the Netherlands are also welcome to join. Growers receive a premium of up to more than €200 per hectare, with a maximum of 10 hectares. In 2015, the pool price of soy at Agrifirm was €502,50 per tonne, with an average hectare yield of 2.900 kg.
140
hectare
Area decrease
In 2016, protein-rich crops were grown on 9.000 hectares in the Netherlands. The figures give a somewhat distorted picture, because alfalfa is also included. With almost 8.300 hectares, this is by far the largest crop. The area of soy was 140 hectares last year, compared to 190 in 2015 and 110 in 2014. With 420 hectares, the field beans crop was the largest protein crop in 2016, apart from alfalfa.
According to the preliminary area figures of 2017, the area of pulses in 2017 amounts to more than 3.000 hectares. That is a plus of 210 hectares on 2016. With 600 hectares, capuchins and gray peas are the largest crop, followed by field beans with 570 hectares. The soybean crop was not included in the 2017 agricultural census.
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Niels van der Boom
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