Delivering sustainable and healthy food

October 24, 2016 | 07:00

(0) user say

The agricultural sector in the Netherlands is in a transition, aiming for improved sustainability and quality, stressing the importance of innovation. An increasing interest for food is the main trigger for this transition. More often, consumers want to make a conscious choice for healthier and sustainable food, paying great attention to the ecological durability of the food chain.

Facts & Figures
- Netherlands is the No. 1 country in the world for having the most plentiful, nutritious, healthy and affordable diet (Oxfam).
- The total value of Dutch agricultural exports was almost €90 billion in 2015 (21 per cent of total Dutch goods export), a number still increasing.
- The contribution of the Dutch agricultural sector, including trade and processing of products to the GDP is 10 per cent (around €11 billion) of the total GDP in 2014.
- The most important export products for 2015 were potatoes, vegetables and fruit (AGF), with €11.1 billion as value.

The Dutch agrofood-complex is well known across the world, based on its strong primary sector, efficient processing, excellent logistics and value adding services. Companies in the Netherlands are in a continuing race to come up with new solutions to even further improve the efficiency, to produce and process healthy foods without losing quality, and to deliver them to consumers all over the world.

Agricultural production is also the backbone of Vietnam’s economy, making Vietnam an important agriculture production country in the world and an economic priority country for the Netherlands. The two countries have been in cooperation for sustainable agricultural development for years. In 2014, a Strategic Partnership Arrangement (SPA) in the field of sustainable agriculture and food security has been signed between the two countries, giving a framework for long-term bilateral cooperation on crop production, horticulture, aquaculture, fisheries and livestock breeding.

The two countries work together stressing the importance of transferring agricultural knowledge and technology, conquering the food security and food safety challenges in Vietnam. Working closely together, Vietnam and the Netherlands add value to a more varied, safer and healthier food supply, produced in a sustainable way with respect to nature and society. By doing so, the agricultural value chain will become more efficient, which means that on the one hand a reduction of food losses, and productivity as well as profitability will increase on the other.