We must reward resilience and dynamism among growers

Crises make people think. There is awareness and realisation; we are having to face up to our way of life. This has happened recently, both with Covid-19 pandemic and with Russia's invasion of Ukraine. ‘These developments cast a different light on food security and sustainability’, explains Martin van Ittersum. ‘It is only natural that we then ask ourselves where our priorities should lie at this time. And that is when we realise that it cannot be taken for granted that we will always produce enough food’. Martin does emphasise, however, that even in times of crisis we not only owe it to ourselves, but especially to future generations, to think about how we can prevent future crises. ‘Up until this point, we have always been able to accommodate refugees, albeit with some difficulty. But what happens when it’s not possible to grow any food at all in large swathes of the world because of global warming?’

Since the round table discussion at Potato Days, there have not really been any developments in food security or sustainability that have broken the trends, according to Martin. The release of the IPCC report, though, saw the publication of an already expected conclusion: there is no time to lose in the fight against climate change. We have known for some time that climate change is happening. So are we still not worried enough about it? Martin explains: ‘Perhaps we are still not personally experiencing enough of the negative effects that climate change brings. We did have the floods in South Limburg last year, but when that was over we mostly went back to business as usual’. At other times, however, climate change becomes the hot topic of the day, ‘and that is when we see that there is sometimes too much focus on pointing the finger of blame at other people, for example farmers. Because of this, these groups are starting to put up opposition, while in the meantime, long-term solutions – to which everyone would contribute – are slow to be developed and actioned’. 

We have become successful as a human race because of the way we work together. That is why we should use these skills to view this challenge from the perspective of the whole economy. ‘There is no one solution; it is the sum of all parts. Even in terms of education – the market of the future – we could perhaps start by creating our vision of what constitutes a healthy planet. Where does our food come from and how do we want it to be produced? And as citizens, we can already begin to set the right example, such as when we go supermarket shopping’, explains Martin. ‘Simply making food more expensive so that farmers can grow more sustainably is just short-sighted. Affordability is just too important for those who are less well-off. Especially in Africa, where people spend 40-50% of their income on food, compared to a figure of 10-15% that we spend. You could, however, look at the ‘polluter pays’ principle. This makes food that is harmful to the environment more expensive, both for the producer and the consumer. The money it generates can then be reinvested in good practices’.

In Martin's opinion, a good way of adapting the manner in which we produce food is to make the cycles smaller. ‘Reusing nutrients, including those from the city, is an example of this. In the same way we use circular fertilisers from the environment (see roadmap on page 7). Nevertheless, this does come at a higher cost. And because people are often not (yet) willing to pay in order to have food that is more sustainable, growers are forced to use cheaper (artificial) fertilisers. A target is needed so that things can be set in motion and clarity can be created for growers and producers alike. There are plenty of targets set in the European Green Deal, the plan Europe is following in order to achieve its goal of becoming the first climate-neutral continent. Sustainable food chains form part of this ambition. The Farm to Fork strategy sets all of this out, including a goal to use fewer artificial fertilisers. Martin explains: ‘Until recently, fertiliser has been cheap, but the war in Ukraine, among other things, has seen fertiliser prices rise suddenly and quickly. The last kilos of (artificial) fertiliser, proportionally speaking, contribute very much to losses. Since – as a result of the Farm to Fork strategy – a course has been chartered to significantly reduce nutrient losses, developments such as the situation in Ukraine could accelerate such a course. This can also be seen in terms of the energy transition, where, after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, support for a more sustainable local energy supply is, quite logically, increasing. Because of the efforts that have already been made, we are able to accelerate what we were already doing. And the same can be applied to sustainable agriculture. That is why I am often amazed by the resilience and dynamism of growers. Some of them, for example, have got involved in new initiatives where, success is certainly not guaranteed. One such initiative is strip farming’. 

While Martin likes some of the goals contained in the Farm to Fork strategy, he is less happy with others, such as the plan to make 25% of farming organic. ‘I don’t think that organic is a goal in itself; what we need is cleaner production methods. Locally, organic can be a good choice if there is a market for it, but in many other cases you can also farm in a cleaner way that is closer to organic while still non-organic. We also have to consider the space that we need for producing our food. We shouldn’t create burdens through all kinds of dik-tats and prohibitions. Organic production requires tens of percent more land to guarantee the same yield. This might be at the expense of natural land, for example’. 

Does export still have a place within circular agriculture? ‘In practice, I expect that trade with foreign countries will always exist. When there are places in the world that offer such ideal conditions for growing seed potatoes, as you have here, you can make good use of them. Moreover, we have realised that knowledge and expertise is not something that you can simply transfer. It is something to build up over many years and, most importantly, is the product of experience. And when innovations such as potatoes grown from seed prove to be successful, exports will have less impact on the environment. Especially if we can also ensure that transport is more sustainable. Furthermore, we shouldn’t forget that we can help countries in sub-Saharan Africa with their food security issues by exporting high quality plant material’. 

Smaller cycles, potato innovations, increasing the yield per hectare, development of knowledge, awareness, biodiversity; in Martin’s opinion, all of this has to be linked together. ‘We need each other so that we can ensure this planet remains habitable. Awareness is the most significant aspect in my opinion. While some people work on the (re)

use of circular fertilisers, others are working on resistant varieties. Still more are working on raising levels of awareness in society. Individually, they are all good ideas; when you bring them all together, each one becomes stronger. This helps matters to evolve in terms of food security and sustainability’.