No commitments made, but satisfaction following ministerial visit to greenhouse
‘And father Jaco, how do you like working with two sons in the business? Is it difficult to let go of certain matters?’ The interested opening questions from Minister Staghouwer of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality to Jaco van den Bosch—who, together with sons Wouter and Tijmen, hosted the visit to the greenhouse horticulture sector initiated by Glastuinbouw Nederland—characterized the atmosphere. While his colleague Jetten, Minister for Climate and Energy Policy, focused more on technical content than on entrepreneurship, his input and interest were also perceived as constructive.
Naturally, the visit of Ministers Staghouwer and Jetten on Friday afternoon, March 18, centered on energy. Adri Bom-Lemstra of Glastuinbouw Nederland fulfilled a coordinating role. “I look back on this working visit with a positive feeling. Many topics were discussed, and the entrepreneurs complemented each other well with practical situations that many greenhouse horticulture entrepreneurs are currently struggling with, leading to concerning circumstances.”
Possible solutions
The Bosch Growers location in Bleiswijk, where green peppers are grown, was chosen for the visit. The location in Berkel en Rodenrijs houses an innovative blackberry cultivation. In addition to Jaco, Wouter, and Tijmen van den Bosch, two fellow growers were invited to update both ministers on the personal situations at their companies, their vision on current issues, and possible solutions.
Sebastiaan Breugem, from tomato company Breugem Horticulture, emphasized, among other things, his situation following technical problems with the geothermal well that supplied heat to him and three other cultivation companies. Willem van der Voort of Levoplant joined the discussion partly due to his board position at Warmtecoöperatie Maasdijk. The objective of the cooperative is to also supply heat to homes in the area, but the director of Levoplant indicated that under the current SDE scheme, many geothermal projects are coming to a standstill this year.
Many current topics
As mentioned, both ministers showed great interest in the experiences of the entrepreneurs present, who were given ample opportunity to tell their stories. Jetten and Staghouwer took turns asking the growers questions such as: what do you believe needs to change, what does your roadmap for the next ten years look like, what priorities would you like us to take away, and where should the management of energy exchange lie?
No commitments were made, of course, but all attendees were pleased with the interaction. The value lies in exchanging thoughts one-on-one with two key ministers on current topics such as: CO2 supply, CO2 sources, sustainable heat projects, heat networks, residual heat, geothermal energy, environmental permits, mining permits, SDE subsidies, heat buffers, and heat roundabouts.
Proud and vulnerable
“The greenhouse horticulture sector has already determined its vision for 2040. It is certainly the sector’s ambition to achieve it,” Adri Bom-Lemstra stated. Wouter van den Bosch expressed pride in what Dutch greenhouse horticulture has established in recent years. Minister Staghouwer responded affirmatively, but added in conclusion that the current situation also demonstrates how vulnerable greenhouse horticulture is.
