Insurer ASR is going to give farmers who are working on sustainability a discount on the lease of their land. The insurer is the largest private owner of agricultural land in the Netherlands, and farmers with sustainable business practices can receive a 5 to 10 percent discount on the rent.
ASR owns 42,000 hectares of agricultural land, says Fadyan Pronk, portfolio manager of ASR Dutch Farmland Fund in the NOS Radio 1 News.
“It is intended for our farmers who have been working for years to make the sector more sustainable, who want to contribute to improving soil health and promoting biodiversity.” The insurer says it wants to compensate those farmers by compensating them with a discount.
The company does not comment on exact amounts because they differ per farmer, depending on how much land they lease.
No extra lists
The insurer has drawn up a number of guidelines that farmers must comply with. According to Pronk, they have sought to connect with existing sustainability certifications. “We want to make it easily accessible for farmers without drawing up extra lists.”
About 15 to 20 percent of the tenants can make use of this, Pronk expects. The insurer expects most of them to meet the conditions by 2024.
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