Toespraak over duurzame veehouderij in het kader van een serie van drie prominentencolleges aan Wageningen UR

Toespraak | 28-03-2008

Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is an honour to address you today as part of the VIP lecture series. This is an ideal opportunity for me to present the vision of Minister Verburg for the future of livestock farming. I would also like to look at the relationship between the sector and the scientific community, as I expect great things of you.

Two weeks ago I read a statement by your president, Aalt Dijkhuizen, in the agricultural daily. In the Netherlands, he said, we need to show more respect for scientific research. We should act more on facts and less on emotions. And we should be more ambitious when it comes to scientific research - and not be so quick to say: "Oh, that's good enough." I agree with him entirely.

In the Netherlands we can be proud of our agricultural knowledge network.
We have Wageningen University, the research institutes, applied research, extension programmes and agriculture and horticulture schools. There is also an increasing level of cooperation between these institutions. People in other countries can only envy us.

But there is still some room for improvement. Like Mr Dijkhuizen, I am talking about respect for scientific knowledge, and about ambition. But I am also talking about cooperation between farmers and growers and the knowledge institutions, about how much the sector benefits from knowledge and science.
That cooperation will be absolutely vital in the coming years.

In the Vision for the future of livestock farming which Minister Verburg presented in January, there is a single central concept, and that is innovation. The sector needs to innovate itself, using the available scientific knowledge.
Her ambition is for all aspects of Dutch livestock farming to be sustainable, and to enjoy broad public support within fifteen years. And here she means livestock farming which shows respect for man, animals and the environment throughout the world.

I realise that this ambition is asking a lot of the sector.
After decades of concentrating on growth, and increasing production, we have begun to realise in recent years that we are pushing the environment to its limits. Clearly this cannot continue - everything has to become more sustainable.

Again, I must stress, the sector has responded energetically to the challenge. When I talk about the need for a change of direction, or say that livestock farming is at a historic crossroads, I do not mean that it has not developed. Far from it. But what we need now is a real leap to intensify and accelerate our efforts towards sustainability. The sector is developing in the right direction, but it is not yet developing fast enough.

There are two reasons why these efforts must be accelerated: sustainability and support within the Netherlands and the international context.

Debates in the political arena and in society are often emotionally charged and polarised, which damages support for livestock farming. It is therefore time to introduce an inspiring and unifying perspective for the future. The government has prepared an ambitious agenda for sustainability, and this provides the basis for our Vision for the future of livestock farming.

Accelerating our efforts towards sustainability will of course have a major impact on livestock farming, which is why we have set a transition phase of fifteen years. In addition to the effect at national level, this acceleration will also have major international impact.

We can no longer consider Dutch livestock farming separately from the rest of the world. Economically, we are moving towards a free world market and the dismantling of European protection. The increasing world population means a growing demand for meat and dairy products. It is envisaged that the world population will have grown from 6 to nine billion by 2050.

In the booming economies of the Far East people don't just want more food, they want better quality and more variety. The Minister and I were in China in October and the pace of development there is breathtaking, and the statistics are quite dizzying.

So we will have to work harder and harder to provide an increasingly urban world population with an adequate, responsible and healthy food supply. The idea of each country fending for itself has long been superseded. Even farmers in developing countries want to improve their income through exports. And that means more international competition for Dutch livestock farmers.

Growing environmental awareness also transcends national boundaries. The demand for food for the growing world population also puts heavy pressure on the global ecosystem. Livestock farming therefore has to find sustainable solutions. We must limit emissions of CO2, methane, nitrous oxide and other greenhouse gases.

In Western Europe we have the added burden of rising consumer expectations of quality. The demand for high-quality, healthy food is increasing, but there is also a need to change public opinion about how animals are kept. That just makes our position more complicated. Livestock farming will have to meet the growing demand for quality in food and food production, and of course, consumers need to understand that quality comes at a price.

Finally in Europe we are also faced with demographic developments like ageing, declining populations, the influx of people from other cultures and the urbanisation of rural areas. These developments place new demands on products and production methods in livestock farming. Innovation, diversity and quality are the core concepts.

The great challenge for the sector, therefore, is this combination of free market dynamics at international level, high standards in relation to the environment and animal welfare. We have to meet high standards, but we mustn't price ourselves out of the market.

International competition will force us to scale up, but we need to do it in a way that is in keeping with Dutch traditions and that fits into the Dutch landscape. This is precisely the reason why I say that we need to raise the bar, and that we need faster and more intensive innovation.

My vision combines three core values: people, planet and profit.
People, because livestock farming is well placed to forge links between town and country; and between people, food and nature. With farms that people can recognise and that fit into the landscape. Farms that respect their animals. Where housing and husbandry are built around the animals. Where the animals can behave naturally, have sufficient daylight, and undergo little or no physical interference. And where the use of drugs is sharply reduced by means of preventive health measures and the breeding of robust animals. Livestock farming as a recognisable and valued guardian of a cultural asset.

Planet, for me, stands for the contribution the sector makes to providing sustainable energy. The emission of harmful substances will soon be minimised. New technologies will ensure a production cycle that is practically closed. Animal feed will be produced in a sustainable way.

However, we must not lose sight of profit. The Netherlands can compete on the international market by providing top quality products. Our supermarkets will soon stock only sustainably produced animal products; our consumers will be well enough informed to make responsible choices and organisations such as the nutrition centre and consumers association will act as watchdogs. At the same time developing countries, - where sustainable agriculture is also being encouraged - will have better access to the world market. Negotiations in the World Trade Organisation will now continue to cover aspects such as animal welfare and the environment.

People, planet and profit - I believe the combination of these three factors forms the basis for sustainable livestock farming for the future. And I mean the near future of livestock farming, in 2023.

A challenging ambition, for which we need help from you - the scientific community. And here I come back to the three factors: people, planet and profit.

Housing and husbandry, as I said, must be built around the animal. Now Wageningen already plays an important role in terms of the development of innovative housing and husbandry systems. The farmers are sorely in need of such help. Before the end of this period of office five per cent of all livestock buildings will have to be integrally sustainable, with a clear prospect of large-scale application in the succeeding years. The link between knowledge and practice is crucial in this context.

Holdings must be recognisable to the general public, and must fit into the landscape. The relationship between farmers and the general public needs to improve. Anyone out cycling in the countryside should see cows and sheep grazing in the fields. Even animals that are kept indoors need to be visible. Farmers need to open their holdings more often to curious urbanites, who want to see for themselves how a farm works. This improves the image of the sector, and makes urban dwellers think more clearly about their behaviour as consumers.

What has science to offer here? Let me give you an example: many dairy farmers keep the cows indoors because otherwise it would be difficult to milk them at the right time. The development of a mobile milking station, allowing cows to be milked outdoors, is a wonderful and practical innovation that allows cows to remain outside without disturbances.

Fortunately, if we are aiming for livestock farming where the animal is at the centre, we can draw on a mass of scientific research. A great deal of knowledge, on prevention and cure, breeding and welfare, is available not only in Wageningen, but also at other research centres, such as the Louis Bolk Institute and the faculty of veterinary medicine in Utrecht.
I have high expectations for a new agenda for knowledge and research in the field of animal welfare.

Factor two is care for the planet. The agenda we have agreed for this requires great knowledge in the field of environmental technology: knowledge about the creation of greenhouse gases and other harmful substances, and knowledge about ways to limit emissions. For example, we have commissioned research into the link between animal feed and methane emissions, into how the composition of feed can be changed so that cows produce less methane and their manure causes less damage to the environment.
Here again we are heavily dependent on the scientific community.

And finally, profit. If the Netherlands wants to lead the field in quality in the world market, we can also draw on the results of scientific research. To build on a leading position you need the best entrepreneurs. They have to make a complex but necessary leap in innovation in a dynamic economy. Their challenge is to apply groundbreaking knowledge in their businesses. The innovation agendas for livestock farming are therefore aimed, among other things, at further development of enterprise to facilitate system innovations. Wageningen plays an important role here. We now have experience in developing new poultry breeds and breeding pigs that produce excellently flavoured meat. Wageningen is also involved in this type of innovation.

Of course science and the sector cannot make these changes unaided.
If we want to achieve sustainability in the sector, with care and attention to people, planet and profit, consumers also have to play a part.

This government will encourage consumers to fulfil their role. They need real awareness of the impact of consumer behaviour on man, environment and animal welfare. Reliable information provision and clear labelling can help to raise this awareness. We are working hard on this: again, in collaboration with the scientific community.

Minister Verburg also spoke here in October last year, when Wageningen was hosting Food4You, an event that showcases the latest developments in nutrition, and which attracted people of all ages. It is wonderful that this university organises such a festival.

Food4You included a presentation by the health coach - information on the quality of food which was not based on vague theories but on hard scientific evidence. That is important, as consumers are also bombarded with a lot of unproven and incomplete information about food.
The minister was also really taken by the fact that Wageningen also goes into the social and psychological background of purchasing and eating behaviour. If we want consumers to make responsible choices, it is important to know what factors influence those choices. The "restaurant of the future" which could be seen there, offered surprising insights. In short: Wageningen plays an important role, even when it comes to consumer attitudes.

So what is the minister's own role in achieving this vision for the future? It can be summed up in a single word: encouragement. She thinks that the most important task as Minister is to ensure that innovation is not hindered by any obstacles, and to encourage innovation where possible through innovation grants, fiscal instruments, investment support and other incentives.

The key policy concepts are providing incentives and creating the right conditions - as opposed to prescription and coercion. I have great confidence in the sector and in its innovative capacity, and I am sure my confidence will not be misplaced.

However, I am by nature somewhat impatient.
The Minister's vision for the future is challenging, and the timeframe ambitious. This is why she wants to make concrete long-term agreements with parties in the chain and other stakeholders, so that everyone knows where they are.

I have sketched out the role that the scientific community can and must play in the realisation of sustainable livestock farming. I expect you to show in your research that LNV funds the research, even when it comes to knowledge-based research. It goes without saying that the findings of such publicly funded scientific research must be available to all.

Of course, scientific research is independent. Science is not just there to support the sector. Research could produce findings the sector may not like. But on balance the independent position of the researchers will only make the sector stronger. I applaud cooperation between researchers, as more can be achieved through cooperation. And we need to achieve more to make the leap to sustainability.

The development of sustainable livestock farming requires cooperation between five areas: farmers, researchers, education, government and environment. As I have already said, the environmental aspect is increasingly important: the social positioning of livestock farming and public approval. In this vision Minister Verburg sees this cooperation as a joint responsibility.

The Government uses various instruments to bring knowledge institutions and farmers together. For example, in this term of office we are making greater use of knowledge vouchers, which are available for all SMEs in horticulture, agriculture and fisheries. These vouchers offer businesses the opportunity to buy in knowledge, jointly or individually, from research institutions. But ultimately you have to seek each other out. And here I paraphrase the words of Aalt Dijkhuizen. What we need is respect for science and from science, respect for businesses, short lines of communication between the two, and high ambitions for the future.

Thank you.