Cómo Holanda se convirtió en una potencia agroalimentaria

The Netherlands has become one of the world's leading agri-food powers. This small country, the size of Aragon, exported products worth €95.6 billion in 2020. Is that a lot? Well, as much as Spain, Italy, and Portugal combined. Neither the pandemic nor the economic crisis have derailed the Dutch agricultural sector, which has consolidated its position as the second largest in the world, behind only the United States. It is true that some of these exports are previously imported food, as it is a distribution center in Europe, but net exports remain the highest in Europe. What has happened in the last year is that the volume of exports fell slightly, although rising prices offset the results, allowing them to reach record figures again, according to a report commissioned by the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Nature, and Food Quality. The figures are impressive. Flowers, plants, bulbs, and nursery products are the most important exports in terms of value, reaching €9.5 billion. This sector was severely affected by the pandemic during the first few months but then recovered strongly. Considering the value of exports, the next most important sectors are meat, dairy products, eggs, and vegetables. All of these business segments saw their export values ​​slightly reduced. Fruits are next, with exports increasing by 11%. Regarding the most important destinations for their products, Germany is by far the most important. It is followed by Belgium, the United Kingdom, and France. Two-thirds of Dutch production ends up in European Union countries. But China is already emerging in the ranking, gaining increasing importance, especially due to the growth in exports of powdered infant formula and pork. But how have the Netherlands, despite its small size, managed to become a global agri-food powerhouse? It's only possible to understand thanks to years of research and development of new techniques, increased investment in R&D, and the application of technology. And productivity has skyrocketed. This innovative spirit permeates the entire agri-food sector. So much so that they have developed what is known as Food Valley, a kind of Silicon Valley of agriculture, supported by Wageningen University, one of the leading institutions in agricultural technology research. The agricultural regions of the Netherlands present a curious panorama when viewed from the sky: the fields are covered with modern greenhouses. They reflect sunlight during the day and are illuminated at night. These growing areas are climate-controlled, allowing a northern European country to become a world powerhouse in the cultivation of potatoes, onions, tomatoes, and strawberries. But most importantly, the space required to produce fruits and vegetables is not large. Take strawberries, for example. Between 2006 and 2017, the area devoted to this fruit decreased considerably. But production increased by almost 50% during that period. Now, almost all strawberries are grown indoors, either in greenhouses or in polytunnels, which are tunnel-like spaces covered with plastic or glass. And strawberries are just one example. The same goes for tomatoes, onions, and potatoes. Thanks to these innovative techniques, one square meter in the Netherlands produces twice as many potatoes as the average other countries. This has made it the world's largest potato exporter, while Spain is only tenth. One of the keys is the use of LED lighting, which allows for 24-hour cultivation. These techniques use less water and chemicals than traditional cultivation. And the results are infinitely superior. To counteract poor, nutrient-poor soils, they resort to growing plants that act in symbiosis with certain bacteria that produce their own fertilizer. Let's take another example: tomatoes. Producing one kilo of tomatoes in Spain requires about 60 liters of water. In the Netherlands, with its enriched soil and the rest of the sophistication, they only need 15 liters. These changes in the way we work began to develop almost two decades ago. Several organizations and the public sector launched an agricultural program under the slogan "twice the food with half the resources." And they have succeeded: producing much more with less, and reducing the use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers. Another element of the Dutch system is the commitment to circular agriculture. They found that agriculture, livestock, and other production systems were poorly integrated. The principles of economics...