The increase in scale in Flanders is continuing, as a result of which the number of farmers in that region is also decreasing. In addition, the price of land is rising and the aging population is increasing. The region therefore shows the same trends as the Netherlands. What does this mean?
The number of agricultural and horticultural companies in the region has increased by more than 10% in 25 years. decreased. This leaves about 23.000 companies. It is striking that mainly the smaller companies to stop, which ensures that the increase in scale continues.
Rising land price
Since land in the region is scarce (due to urbanisation), the average price of land is rising. This has increased by 2014% since 35 to about €52.100 per hectare. Although there are major provincial differences; for example, the price in Antwerp and Limburg is €65.000, while in Flemish Brabant it is less than €40.000.
The agricultural area in Flanders covers 610.971 hectares, which means that the area has decreased by 10% in 2,1 years. That is clearly less than the decrease in the Netherlands, because the acreage here decreased by about over the past 10 years 7,6%.
Growth of the potato area
Of the total agricultural area, approximately 209.000 hectares are used by the arable sector. About 126.000 hectares of this is used for the cultivation of grains. In addition, the potato area has increased by 10% in the past 23 years to more than 50.000 hectares. On the other hand, the acreage of beet showed a sharp decline (-34% to 20.000 hectares). This is mainly due to the abolition of the sugar quota and the falling sugar price.
It is striking that the number of dairy cows is increasing, while the number of pigs is decreasing. Flanders has approximately 1,3 million cows and 5,7 million pigs. The average number of cows per farm is 143 head, while at pig farms it is 2.121 head.
Aging is increasing
The aging of the population is also continuing in the agricultural sector. The average age of a Flemish farmer is currently 54 years, whereas 10 years ago it was still 50 years. Only 13% of the over-50s have a successor. This is due to the great uncertainty surrounding income, because the average labor income per full-time worker was below €2016 in 30.000.
Despite the limited earnings in the sector, 80% of Flemish farmers are satisfied with their work; more than 50% are even satisfied to very satisfied. Although there is also a downside, because 1 in 5 farmers suffers from high to very high stress. This is mainly due to uncertainty about income, administrative burdens and problems with acquiring additional land.