The Netherlands’ fertile soil and smart solutions puts the country at second place as the largest exporter of agrifood products in the world after the United States. Living below sea level made us experts in dealing with water related challenges and makes us an innovative worldwide partner for water.

Today’s water challenges call for cooperation and the exchange of knowledge and expertise. The Dutch water sector invites you to team up to find the best solutions for our changing world.

Water management is one of the greatest challenges facing the agrifood sector today. The Netherlands has expertise in water management and agriculture, including in greenhouse cultivation. The Dutch water and agriculture sectors can be instrumental internationally in boosting food security worldwide by increasing crop yields in regions with unreliable water supplies or high soil salinity.

Combining techniques and information on soil fertility, soil moisture, water buffering capacity and irrigation is what we call an integrated approach to water and agrifood. Innovative information technologies play a crucial role.

New technologies

New and easily accessible technologies can improve water use efficiency and at the same time increase yields. Innovative solutions, such as direct crop monitoring and geo-information, will give farmers better insight in their water resources. Measuring soil quality and moisture levels will enable farmers to take the right irrigation and fertilisation measures. Difficult environmental conditions also demand new crop varieties that are resistant to drought and salinity.