De Boer 2.0: healthy food and quality living environment

Agriculture faces a number of major challenges. In 3 articles I made a plea to put the agricultural business and the craftsmanship of the farmer at the center of the intended transition to a more sustainable agricultural system. The agricultural business as an integrator of ecosystem services.

In conclusion, I summarize my vision in a number of short statements. My position: the transition to a sustainable agricultural system will only be successful if we all put the farmer and his craftsmanship at the center of this development.

I have 2 reasons for this: Firstly, the farmer can and wants to produce healthy food as well as maintain and improve the quality of the living environment. Both the tasks and the solutions are highly dependent on the location of the company. His commitment and professionalism are also crucial to achieve goals. Customization is necessary. With the farmer in the center, the transition becomes concrete.

Secondly, society around the farmer lacks the big and holistic story about producing healthy food. As long as the relationship between farmer and citizen, between farmer and politicians and between farmer and science is not strengthened, caricatures dominate and there is no room for sustainable growth and restoration of biodiversity, and soil, water and air quality.

Transition requires 3 moves
In my opinion, 3 movements are needed for the transition to be successful. First, farmers need to start telling a compelling story again. In which they demonstrate through appealing examples that their craftsmanship is capable of producing healthy food and enhancing the quality of the living environment. Involve citizens in the production of healthy food through local and regional initiatives.

Secondly, farmers must allow the ecological carrying capacity of the environment to be the guiding principle in their business operations. And looking together (and together with AgTech companies and chain parties) for strategic solutions in land use and natural connections between companies, in strategic choices regarding fertilization and soil management, and in water management and crop protection.

And thirdly, policy and the market must work together to stimulate integrated solutions, to develop simple and transparent critical performance indicators, and to actually reward sustainable companies through financial and policy instruments.

4 principles for enhancing synergy
In order to strengthen the synergy between agriculture and ecosystem services as a farm, it must be guided by the following 4 principles:

1. Protect and utilize the natural capital of the soil. Maintain soil quality, reduce the phosphate status to 'sufficient', restore subsoil compaction and ensure diversity in measures, over time and space.
2. Close the cycles of carbon, water and nutrients and switch to natural pest control where possible. Follow Good Agricultural Practice: only use manure where necessary, let the crop needs take precedence and use techniques that limit losses to the environment.
3. Strengthen the synergy between food production, environment and health and limit trade-offs that are inevitably linked to food production. Let the soil quality be the guiding principle for the construction plan (not everything is possible in every place), improve it where possible and limit possible losses to the environment.
4. Be open and transparent: show and substantiate with images and figures how the quality of the living environment improves. Monitor not only crop production and quality, but also the impact on the environment, and use this insight to manage and valorise.

Initiatives with little sense of reality
I see dozens of initiatives and visions that inspire enthusiasm, but have little sense of reality. That is a shame, because ultimately every transition is about people (in this case: farmers and citizens) who (have to) start moving towards a new form of agriculture.

As far as I'm concerned, we combine this enthusiasm and drive with the craftsmanship of the farmers in order to make the transition concrete. The goals are numerous: improving circularity, combating climate change, improving water quality and quantity, improving soil quality, restoring biodiversity and improving plant and animal health.

These goals can only be realized if they are translated into concrete actions on the agricultural holding. Then it also becomes clear that not everything can be done in the same place. It will then become clear how it is possible to combine food production with protecting the quality of the living environment.

Strongly involved with soil and area
When I think of the future farmer and his business, I see a person who is proud of his business because he contributes to a better world. He offers inspiration and is inspired by stories from his environment. He has defined a set of strategic goals to which his company contributes. He continuously monitors how his company contributes to the production of healthy food and how his company maintains and improves the quality of the living environment. He is open to continuous improvement in efficiency and he strives for sustainable agriculture for future generations.

The more farmers I speak to, the more I discover that they are driven by a strong commitment to the quality of the soil as well as the quality of the area in which they live. They feel responsible for producing healthy food. That is what drives farmers. This passion as well as this craftsmanship makes it possible to make our agricultural system sustainable and sustainable.

Gerard Rose

Senior project manager in soil, water and agriculture at the Nutrient Management Institute (NMI).

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