How a tiny country became the second-largest agricultural exporter in the world

Summary:

• Once a tiny country, the Netherlands now ships over 150 million tons of food annually, ranking second globally.

• The Netherlands prioritized food security after WWII, leading to advanced agricultural technology and research at Wageningen University.

• With vast greenhouses, advanced technology, and seed dominance, the Netherlands is a global leader in sustainable agriculture.

Once you mention the largest food producers in the world, you instantly imagine large countries such as the United States, Brazil, and China. No one considers the Netherlands, a country that is about the size of Maryland. However, this tiny, densely populated state ships more than one hundred and fifty million tons of food in a year, making it the second biggest agricultural shipper in the entire world.

Smaller Than Maryland

 

Compared to forty times its area, the Netherlands boasts just a little more than seventeen million people crowded onto a very small landmass and yet manages to exceed other countries by annual total value of exports of agricultural produce by far.

Everything Changed With a Hunger Crisis

 

With the devastating World War Two famine that claimed the lives of thousands, the Dutch government decided that food security was its ultimate national agenda, a move that silently changed the whole country forever.

Greenhouses Everywhere

 

The Netherlands boasts some of the largest complexes of greenhouses in the world, each occupying hundreds of acres. These climate-regulated farms produce tomatoes, peppers, and lettuce throughout the year despite the cold weather outside.

Technology Works Hard

 

Crops are watered by robots, the chemical content of the soil is monitored by drones, and the sensors track plants one-at-a-time. Dutch farms yield a lot more per acre than any traditionally farmed area of the world.

Wageningen University is a pacesetter

 

Wageningen is the largest agricultural university in the world, leading the way in pioneering research in seeds, sustainability, and agricultural technology, and fifteen of the largest global food corporations have research stations in Wageningen.

Seeds Are a Secret Weapon

 

More than a third of the world trade in vegetable and fruit seeds is controlled by the Netherlands. There is no visible but strong influence of Dutch agriculture on global food production, which is supported by the remarkable dominant factor, its seed.

Rotterdam Moves Everything

 

The biggest port in Europe is located in the Netherlands. That geographical capacity enables Dutch agricultural commodities to be transported to various parts of the globe more quickly and more effectively than almost any other nation on earth.

Nearly Zero Pesticides

 

The use of pesticides in Dutch greenhouses has been nearly entirely abolished, and yields have grown spectacularly. Wee bees do the pollinating by themselves, and wee technology does the rest, a truly groundbreaking method of sustainable, large-scale agriculture.

The Largest Flower Exporter in the World

 

Each year, twelve billion euros of flowers, plants, and bulbs are exported out of the Netherlands. Nearly three out of five cut flowers sold all over the world go directly through Dutch auctions and distribution channels.

A Blueprint for the World

 

Countries with food insecurity are scrambling to learn about what the Dutch are doing. Feeding billions with less water, less land, and fewer chemicals, the Netherlands demonstrated that it is really possible to produce more food.