Advisors from the German Agricultural Ministry recently paid a visit to the Dutch province of Westland. They wanted to see the current state of Dutch horticulture for themselves. The working visit was entitled "Frau Antje macht auf Grün" ("Mrs Antje goes green"). The German delegation visited projects and companies that contribute to the sustainability of Dutch fruit and vegetable farming. The German advisory team advises German consumers, companies, and government institutions. They give them advice about nutrition and other food-related matters. These include food production and origin as well as legislation and regulations.
Koppert Cress: Rob Baan inspires the German delegation with his company and presentation about the importance of healthy food.
Rijk Zwaan: Jan Doldersum shows off sweet pointed peppers in the colours of the German flag.
The future of fruit and vegetables
The entire greenhouse cultivation sector uses organic pollination and pesticides. This greatly impressed the German delegation during their visit to Koppert Biological system's Experience Centre. They then had a tour of the World Horti Center, led by Marc Zwinkels. Here, they discussed numerous ideas and innovations. These included PRIVA's picking robot. There was also much interest in the conversion from gas to new energy sources such as geothermal energy.
GroentenFruit Huis: Daan van Empel presented all the efforts made in the Dutch horticulture sector in the area of sustainability.
The group was also very interested in the concept of vertical farming with LED lighting. They saw, and tasted, a large assortment of fruit-vegetables. They also visited the tomato greenhouse with its more than 100 varieties of tomatoes. This led to much discussion about the future of vegetables and healthy food. Rob Baan played in on this with a visit to Koppert Cress. Together, Germany and the Netherlands spend about EUR 500 billion on health care. In Rob Baan's opinion, these costs can be reduced. An increase in the consumption of fruit and vegetables would contribute to this. The German delegation agreed.
World Horti Center: the envoy was impressed by all the innovations, including the PRIVA picking robot.
Part of the Koppert Cress visit was an explanation from GroentenFruit Huis about the sustainability of the fruit and vegetable sector. Daan van Empel, who works on Sustainability Policies, gave a bird's eye view of the results the Netherlands has already achieved in the various areas of sustainability. The central point of departure is that the fruit and vegetable sector ensures the availability of healthy, sustainable food. From here, there is a clear link to the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals (SDG's). The German guests recognised that the fruit and vegetable sector could make a meaningful contribution towards achieving these SDG's. They did, however, explicitly indicate that it is essential that attention must be given to establishing a clear, independent foundation for the steps needed to achieve these goals. This was in line with the explanation of the new 'on the way to Planet Proof' certification scheme. This is an independent certification scheme for plant-based sectors, with a focus on environmental aspects.
Koppert Biological Systems: the German delegation received a royal welcome. Much attention was paid to the queen bee.
For more information:
GroentenFruit Huis
German Desk Agri, Food & Flowers
Jochem Wolthuis
Tel: + 31 (0) 616 290 395
Communication
Wilma van den Oever
Tel: +31 (0) 793 681 113
Mob: +31 (0) 630 986 476