Crop Protection Framework Covenant

With the Crop Protection Framework Covenant, the government, supply chain partners, and civil society organizations are taking an important step towards future-proof agriculture. The Dutch Potato Organisation (NAO), through BO Akkerbouw, is a signatory and views the covenant as an important foundation for jointly building a sustainable potato sector.

The covenant contains agreements to reduce the environmental impact of crop protection, improve water quality, and stimulate innovation. The NAO endorses the importance of these societal challenges. At the same time, the further sustainability of the potato sector requires workable solutions that offer entrepreneurs a realistic course of action to take the next steps in sustainability. Collaboration between the government, supply chain partners, trade associations, knowledge institutions, and civil society organizations is essential in this regard.

For the NAO, the covenant is an important first step. The organization remains actively involved in the further development of the agreements, ensuring they lead to workable solutions that contribute to both societal challenges and a strong potato cluster.

Based on this responsibility, the NAO, as the advocate for the trade in seed potatoes and ware potatoes, is committed to a sector that can continue to invest, innovate, and become more sustainable. A strong potato cluster is a prerequisite for further sustainability.

The strength of our cluster lies in the interplay between trade, breeding companies, suppliers, growers, industry associations, research, education, and independent quality assurance. This ecosystem makes it possible to rapidly develop new knowledge and innovations, apply them in practice with Dutch growers, and thereby gain experience.

Therefore, it is essential that the Netherlands continues to provide space for cultivation, knowledge development, and practical research. Without Dutch growers, there is no possibility to develop, test, and further scale up new, resilient varieties.

This is in the interest of global sustainability. For instance, much less water is needed to grow potatoes than to grow rice. Dutch breeders are working on new, resilient varieties that are more resistant to drought and heat.

Moreover, healthy plant material from the Netherlands makes a significant contribution to the global food supply. Dutch seed potatoes can be used to grow potatoes for 800 million people worldwide every year. Sustainably grown Dutch consumption potatoes find their way in the Netherlands, but also in Europe and beyond. In countries outside Europe, Dutch consumption potatoes supplement local production.

The Netherlands has a potato sector we can be proud of. Foreign countries look on with admiration at how the Dutch potato cluster is organized. It is our shared responsibility to maintain and further strengthen this position, so that the Netherlands remains a global leader in knowledge, innovation, and food security in the future. The NAO, therefore, remains committed, together with its members and covenant partners, to the further development of the agreements, so that the Dutch potato sector can continue to invest, innovate, and become more sustainable in the future.