The outbreak of corona in March 2020 deeply affected many entrepreneurs in the agricultural sector. In this series a look back at the past year with entrepreneurs who were previously in the picture during the corona crisis at Akkerwijzer. Today: arable farmer Erik van der Heijden from Dinteloord (NB).
The Brabant arable farmer handed out chips potatoes for free at the end of May. He hoped that this would give at least some of his potatoes a good destination. Above all, he hoped to enter into dialogue with consumers about fair pricing. And it worked. “A lot of people came to it, beyond expectations. I think I gave away 30 tons. ” He has had many conversations with the people who came for the free potatoes. “Yes, I was able to get my message across. And then you notice that many people do not think about what it means that they can get their potatoes straight from the supermarket. That they pay more than 1 euro per kilo at the till, which as a farmer I get less than 6 cents. ”
‘Far below cost price’
At the start of the corona crisis, Van der Heijden had 1,400 tons of unsaleable French fries potatoes in storage. The shed has become empty, but not for the price the grower would have liked to receive for it. “A large part has come into export through trade. And some of it was left as animal feed. For prices well below my cost of 13 cents. ” That is sour, he thinks. “You don’t grow potatoes for that, you grow them to make money.”
Fortunately, his onions were well priced this year, which offset the loss to some extent. “But you actually fill one hole with another.”
Frustrating
What will he do differently next season? He doesn’t know yet. “I am considering growing fewer potatoes. Or maybe no potatoes at all. I do not expect a recovering market for the coming year. Then why should I grow them if it only costs money. Then I’ll grow preserves or something. ” It remains a difficult choice. “You never know when you will do it right.” Yes, that is inherent to the farming profession, he knows that. “Prices can always be bad, you know that as a farmer.”
But his biggest pain is in the big gap between the consumer and the farmer price for potatoes, for example. “I understand that all parties have to make money from it. But this gap is too big. That remains frustrating. ”
