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‘No farmers, no food’, but is that true?

It is a slogan that we have seen many times in recent days: ‘No farmers, no food’. For farmers, it is the main argument against the government’s announced nitrogen policy. Because, they say, if we have to stop, the Netherlands will no longer have food. But to what extent is that theory correct?

Written by

Sven de Laet

“At least I can take away the primary concern,” says Jeroen Candel from Dongen. He works as senior lecturer in Food and Agricultural Policy at Wageningen University. “We don’t have to worry that we will run out of food in the short term. We only have a problem if all farmers stop suddenly. But that is not the case.”

“About 70 percent of what we grow in the Netherlands goes abroad.”

This has everything to do with the international interconnectedness of our food supply. For example, a large part of what we grow in the Netherlands is not intended for here at all. The Netherlands is a major player within the EU, particularly in the field of meat, floriculture and certain vegetables. “About 70 percent of what we grow in the Netherlands eventually goes abroad.”

Researcher and assistant professor Jeroen Candel (photo: Paul Voorham).
Researcher and assistant professor Jeroen Candel (photo: Paul Voorham).

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