FactSheet 3.0 From Productive Farm to Rural Amenity (2013, Vereniging Deltametropool)

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FACTSHEET Nº 3 — 06 | 2013

DELTAMETROPOLIS ASSOCIATION AIMS TO PROMOTE AND GUIDE THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF THE DUTCH METROPOLITAN REGION, KNOWN AS RANDSTAD-HOLLAND

FOR ASSOCIATION MEMBERS ONLY

“FROM PRODUCTIVE FARM TO RURAL AMENITY” Delfzijk en omgeving Overig Groningen Noord-Friesland

Oost-Groningen

Noord-Drenthe Zuidwest-Friesland

Zuidoost-Friesland

Zuidwest-Drenthe

Kop van Noord-Holland

Zuidoost-Drenthe

Alkmaar en omgeving Noord-OveriJssel Ijmond

Zaanstreek

Agglomeratie-Haarlem

Flevoland

Grote Amsterdam

Twente Zuidwest-OveriJssel

Hot Grooi en Vechstreek

Agglomeratie Leiden en Bolenstreek

Veluwe

Oost-Zuid-Holland

Agglomeratie-s’Gravehage

Utrecht Achterhoek

Delften Westland Arnhem/Nijmegen Rijnmond

Zuidoost Zuid-Holland

Zuidwest-Gederland

Noordoost-Noord-Brabant West-Noord-Brabant

Midden-Noord-Brabant

Overig Zeeland

Zuidoost-Noord-Brabant

Noord-Limburg

Zeeuwsch-Vlaanderen

DECLINE IN NUMBER OF FARM-RELATED JOBS BY COROP* REGION, 2010

Midden-Limburg

Zuid-Limburg

0-20%

20-40%

40-60%

60-80%

80-100%

*Regional level between municipalities and provinces. In 1970, designed by the Regional Research Coordination Committee, to which the format is given its name. The Netherlands has 40 COROP areas.

FACTSHEET Nº 3 — 06 | 2013

Flevoland

DELTAMETROPOLIS ASSOCIATION FACTSHEET

Shift in farm economics provides opportunity for diversification Agriculture comprises the greatest part of land use in the Netherlands by far, taking in nearly 70% of the total land area. Buildings, semi-built areas, and areas for transport occupy only 10%. Over the past 50 years, a steady decline in the number of farms has occurred in the Netherlands, as the urban areas continue to expand and the amount of rural area declines. According to Statistics Netherlands (CBS), nearly five businesses are discontinued every day as the agricultural sector moves towards large-scale farm operations. Despite the declining number of businesses, total output has remained at the same level, due to the strength of large-scale farms, which use less land for the same amount of production than their hobby farm counterparts.

In recent years, farmers have been forced to turn

to multi-functional agricultural operations in order to receive additional income. This diversification, known as “social farming”, has resulted in a myriad of services, from the farmer becoming a landscape manager or nature conservationist, to their farm becoming a destination for personal reflection, a weekend vacation, or an educational trip for children.

According to a recent report by the Netherlands Social and Cultural Planning Office, the countryside offers a healthy living environment, low levels of concern for crime, less work-related stress than in urban areas, and a strong social participation within the area. Still, their poor connection to urban areas and limited services continue to keep people at bay, and employment opportunities continue to decrease as higher-educated people move to the city.

Although the number of multi-functional farms has increased rapidly over the last decade, the greatest challenge will come from connecting the rural and

FARM FACTS

Decrease in number of farm-related jobs, Netherlands total

Number of farms, Netherlands total

Total labor force, regularly employed

Individual farmer*

FACTSHEET Nº 3 — 06 | 2013

Number of multi-purpose farms

450

x 1000

450

x 1000

900

400

400

800

350

350

700

300

300

600

250

250

500

200

200

400

150

150

300

100

100

200

50

50

100

0

0 1950

2012

0 2000

2012 *Refers to a natural person, sole proprietorship or partnership (general partnership or limited)

FARM DIVERSIFICATION

urban landscapes, as well as developing a new agriculture system that compliments and expands upon the existing value in these areas.

The opportunity to bridge the gap between the rural and urban spaces is growing. Social farming is stimulated by societal demands to renew the countryside and keep cities healthy. The combination of the production of regional goods, green care services, recreation facilities and education will lead to a sustainable future for agriculture and create high quality urban areas as a result.

SOURCES Pierik, Cor. “Number of Farms and Market Gardens Reduced Further.”

CBS: Statistics Netherlands, 26 Sept. 2012. Web. The Netherlands Institute for Social Research. “A Countryside for All Dutch People,” 2008.

Hassink, Jan, Hulsink, Willem, and Grin, John. “Development of Care Farms in the Netherlands,” October, 2012.

CONTACT AUTHOR Katherine VanHoose, research within the framework of the ‘Landschap van de Deltametropool’ project at the Deltametropolis Association and the Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment.

Mauritsweg 51-a, 3012 JW Rotterdam PO box 600, 3000 AP Rotterdam, The Netherlands +31 (0)10 413 0927 | www.deltametropool.nl secretariaat@deltametropool.nl