How do we get the soil healthy and rich in nutrients again, with as few chemical pesticides as possible? Farmer Peter Appelman from Stompetoren swears by regenerative agriculture. He enriches his fields with compost and fresh manure. “We’re taking up the knowledge of our grandfathers again. If I put my fingers in the ground here, I’ll come across ten worms.”
A large number of green schools are participating in the Wheelbarrow March today on ‘Biodiversity Day’. Citizens and farmers are thus drawing attention to a better substrate. Excessive use of the soil and chemical pesticides not only exhausts the soil, it also causes a decrease in vitamins and minerals in our food.
A group of students from Vonk Veehouderij en Akkerbouw is visiting the family business of farmer Peter from Stompetoren today. Together they grow broccoli, red and white cabbage. They stay away from chemical pesticides as much as possible, he explains.
“We know that there are fewer nutrients in our current vegetables. That is why we have to enrich the soil with organic fertilizers instead of chemical fertilizers. After harvesting, we sow the soil with organic material. I try to explain to the youth that this is a different way of farming, and that we have to go there.”
‘Measuring is knowing’
Regenerative agriculture focuses on improving the soil. The soil also needs rest. This can be done, for example, by sowing grain or grass. “Cultivating too intensively every year is not possible. I am now going to plant herbs between the cabbage crops, because the more diversity, the more life. Organic material (compost) does not convert on its own, we need worms, fungi and bacteria for that. To measure is to know, which is why we regularly take samples – the results are significant.”
“We learned at the National Agricultural School that we had to spread more nitrogen, which was good for our crops”
According to Peter, many farmers would like to contribute to healthier food and cleaner nature, but this comes at a hefty price tag.
Wrongly brought up
“We learned from government officials at the National Agricultural School that we should spread more nitrogen, which was good for our crops. We were brought up completely wrong. By not working with nature, but against nature. Ultimately, citizens have to pay for that.”
The problems are now mainly attributed to the farmer, but society as a whole contributes to the high nitrogen emissions. “Piss and poop gives ammonia. The same thing that those cows excrete, we people also do in the toilet. The population is just as polluting as the cows. Our beautiful country, we all have to take care of that.”
And that is why society as a whole has to transition, says Peter. “We cannot oblige citizens to buy organic, but we simply have to pay more for healthier food. And stop throwing plastic with the organic waste. A farmer can use grass from the roadside, but if it is strewn with McDonald’s junk I can’t do anything with that.”
‘Bullying away peasants’
The government plays an indispensable role in this transition. “Organic fertilization, faeces from cows and people, is now burned to generate energy. That is a great shame,” says Peter. “There are quite a few obstacles to overcome to improve nitrogen emissions and the soil, but we must be given the opportunities by the government. Bullying those few farmers away, we won’t make it.”