How can we close the farm rows?

That is the question that remains. We will write in the evening on Monday, April 26, 2021. The roast of Sjaak van der Tak has just been completed. The fresh chairman of LTO Nederland has been expertly directed and drilled into the ground by Farmers Defense Force (FDF) and associates during a live broadcast meeting with FDF executives and angry farmers. What was it about?

About the Farmer Friendly plan of FDF, versus a plan from the chain presented by Sjaak van de Tak. The outcome of the meeting had already been determined in advance by the FDF directors on the basis of the sheets and cryptic questions. Van der Tak has chosen his partners and must be in the FDF loft. Those who are not for us are against us.

What went wrong?
Before he actually became chairman, Van der Tak started forging ties with the board and members of FDF. He probably assumed that reason prevails and his authority as chairman of LTO was recognized. Two misconceptions as it turned out. The Absurd Plan Farmer Friendly - what I'm talking about before - wrote wants the Dutch supermarkets to solve the international problems of farmers by asking for a levy on the total turnover of the supermarkets. Whether or not a farmer delivers to a supermarket and how much, it doesn't matter. Just cash in. Something that is too good to be true and will stay that way. No matter how beautifully you dress it up and how many films and presentations you make about it, it remains completely unrealistic.

But Van der Tak's plan is not flawless either. That comes very much from the mind of the chain, without taking into account the opposing interests. There must be a balance between power (in this case the 5 purchasing combinations of the supermarkets) and counter-power (the farmer as price taker and the farmers' representatives). Politically topical these days, but absolutely also in this matter.

Van der Tak would do well to think about who he wants to forge his coalition with. And to position itself (and LTO) in a service-oriented way with regard to the goal: better prices for farmers and horticulturists. The plan certainly contains elements that can provide a better future for some of the farmers, if it is progressed in the right way.

Been fooled
Farmers are rightly angry. They have been fooled for years. A good number of them are caught between skyrocketing debt and under-yield, after decades of supporting suppliers, buyers, banks, advisors and government in the strategy of scaling up and capitalization. The hard truth is that some of them cannot manage to produce for world market prices. They have to switch or stop.

The continuous increase in scale, together with the cost-increasing conditions in the Netherlands, results in only a limited number of farmers race to the bottom of producing for the world market at low cost. A large middle group will have to take stock in the coming years and make their choice for the future. That is the harsh reality we find ourselves in. And that no one dares to speak.

And FDF? Against their better judgement, they continue to fight for their own position, feeding the emotion and sadness of the group that is stuck, without offering real solutions that can create broad support. Led, among other things, by administrators who themselves perished due to poor quality or who enjoyed extensive snacking from the government subsidy rack. Is that the new leadership the farmers have been waiting for? The question of who can close the ranks still remains unanswered.

This article from Foodlog.nl is part of the content collaboration between Boerenbusiness en foodlog.

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