Toespraak van staatssecretaris van Dam bij de ontvangst van het OECD-rapport 'Innovation, Agricultural Productivity and Sustainability in the Netherlands'

Toespraak | 26-11-2015

Ladies and gentlemen,

Earlier this month, the Netherlands got a taste of vegetarian steak. The soy-based product with the texture of real meat is the result of close collaboration between two Dutch universities and Jaap Korteweg, Dutch Entrepreneur of the Year in 2015 and founder of The Vegetarian Butcher.

It will be a few years before the steak hits the stores. But it’s a good example of how cooperation between knowledge institutions and the private sector can have fantastic results.

There are many more good examples of agricultural and food innovation in the Netherlands. Earlier this year, my predecessor opened a new type of animal housing: the Kwatrijn shed. Its floor separates solid and liquid waste. It’s powered by the sun. It blends in with the landscape. And offers the highest standard of animal welfare. The shed was developed with a Dutch government grant for developing innovative solutions to wider, social issues.

Another good example is Greenhouse as a Source of Energy, a public private partnership in which the Ministry of Economic Affairs participates. This innovation programme aims to make horticulture energy neutral by 2050 and some greenhouses are experimenting with geothermal energy while others are pioneering new breeding methods. And now, one of the most recent innovations is a winter green house, which makes more effective use of what little winter sun there is, meaning less energy is needed to simulate the summer sun.

All these examples make clear that, in the Netherlands, there's a lot of innovating going on in food technology, health, animal welfare and sustainability. Innovation is a priority for this government, and for me personally. If we're to find answers to the broad challenges facing us – now and in the future – government, the private sector and knowledge institutions must work on innovation together.

I’m pleased that the OECD report confirms we’re on the right track. The OECD finds a high degree of innovation in our agricultural knowledge and innovation system. As well as demand-driven research agendas. And government, education, research and the various sectors working together effectively.

However, the OECD justly concludes that our knowledge and innovation system faces major challenges. Globally, we need 50 to 70 percent more food in the next three decades. At the same time, we need to monitor food quality, minimise our environmental impact, and use natural resources wisely. I'd like to briefly discuss some of the OECD's recommendations for achieving all this.

The OECD finds that regulations for business are too complex and the associated costs too high. That's what we will tell the European Commission. We will use the OECD’s recommendation to urge the Commission to speed up progress in simplifying the rules.

Another recommendation concerns cross-sectoral collaboration. It's an issue I feel strongly about, and I agree completely that cooperating with other sectors would help reinforce the agricultural knowledge and innovation system. We have projects that put this into practice. For instance, residual heat from power plants is used to turn animal manure into fertiliser pellets, which are easier to market. And animal manure is used to produce natural gas to heat our houses.

And I’d also like to mention the AgriFoodTech platform, that was set up recently and aims to bring together public bodies, civil society and the private sector. The Dutch universities of technology were among the founding parties. The platform is focused on innovation at the cutting edge of high-tech science and agriculture. It seeks social and technological innovation. Both are vital ingredients for a sustainable future.

In the time to come, I'll be exploring ways of promoting cross-sectoral collaboration in the agricultural knowledge and innovation system, as well as my own role in this. For a start, I went to Eindhoven last week to see how designers and primary producers are jointly developing new products, and rethinking agricultural businesses.

The OECD emphasises that the government must play a role in maintaining the Dutch agricultural knowledge and innovation system. I couldn't agree more. Cooperation between the private sector, knowledge institutions and government is key to our success. Ken Ash [Director of the OECD Trade and Agriculture Directorate red.] argued 'more brainpower' is needed. I agree that knowledge and innovation is vital to future success.

Ladies and gentlemen,

I'd like to thank the OECD for its independent review of our agricultural knowledge and innovation system. I will discuss your recommendations with parliament and set out my plans to follow them up.

I see the report as a real boost for the sector. The Netherlands is a leading force in agricultural knowledge and innovation, and the world’s second-biggest agricultural exporter. We owe it to ourselves to maintain this system and make it stronger. I’m confident that we’ll succeed, building on the OECD’s recommendations.

Thank you.