The changing role of agriculture in Dutch society

Abstract

SUMMARYDutch agriculture has undergone significant changes in the past century, similar to many countries in the European Union. Due to economies of scale and in order to remain economically profitable, it became necessary for farmers to increase farm size, efficiency and external inputs, while minimizing labour use per hectare. The latter has resulted in fewer people working in the agricultural sector. Consequently, Dutch society gradually lost its connection to agricultural production. This divergence resulted in a poor image for the agricultural sector, because of environmental pollution, homogenization of the landscape, outbreaks of contagious animal diseases and reduced animal welfare. Although the general attitude towards agriculture seems to have improved slightly in recent years, there is still a long way to go in regaining this trust.In order to keep the Dutch countryside viable, farmers are considered indispensable. However, their methods of production should match the demands of society in terms of sustainability. This applies both to farming systems that are used in a monofunctional way (production only) and to multifunctional farming systems. For researchers involved in development of these farming systems, this requires new capabilities; contrary to the situation in the past, citizens and stakeholder groups now demand involvement in the design of farming systems. In the current paper, it is suggested that, besides traditional mainstream agriculture, other alternative farming systems should be developed and implemented. Hence, Dutch agricultural research should remain focused on the cutting edge of economy and society. Despite all efforts, not all of these newly developed systems will acquire a position within the agricultural spectrum. However, some of the successful ones may prove extremely valuable.

Scenarios of long-term farm structural change for application in climate change impact assessment

“…Literature and historical data analysis showed that farm structural change is mainly influenced by technological progress, policy intervention and market developments (Koomen et al 2005;van Bruchem and Silvis 2008;Meerburg et al 2009). As the aim of this paper is to put climate change impacts into context, for further investigation we chose as drivers technology, policy, market, and climate change.…”

“…However, changes in agricultural policy setting, market responses and technological development were shown to be at least equally important drivers of change for agriculture (Hermans et al 2010). Due to the impact of these drivers, farms in The Netherlands have been changing considerably since World War II (Meerburg et al 2009). Those changes affected not only the numbers of farms, but also accounted for new farm types through structural changes.…”

Impact changes of climatic extremes on arable farming in the north of the Netherlands

“…And although the number of farmers is gradually declining, the total land surface used for agricultural purposes is relatively stable, indicating a trend toward larger farms (Meerburg et al 2009a). Besides this trend toward fewer and larger farms, climatic change will also shape the future of agriculture in the Netherlands.…”

Farmers' contribution to landscape services in the Netherlands under different rural development scenarios

“…In agricultural landscape, many of these services are the result of the farmer's decision to allocate resources to the production of on-farm rural activities. These activities can be decoupled from agriculture such as bed and breakfasts, on-farm shops and educational programs for children (Meerburg et al, 2009) but can also be coupled with agriculture.…”