During October 30-31, 2025, a group of 15 Dutch companies and organisations visited Romania as part of the agri-trade mission organized by the LAN-office in Bucharest and led by Ralf van de Beek - Director for international agribusiness and food security within MinLVVN. The focus was mainly on two sectors: protected horticulture and livestock development.
Much more than a trade mission
The set-up of the mission was amulti targetedone. Combining aspects of a classical trade mission (B2B matchmaking and sessions about ‘doing business’ in the host country) with a 1-day presence of the participating companies at a major agri-food fair (Indagra), followed by sector info-sessions and company visits necessary for the thorough understanding of the two focus sectors. In addition, the presence of MinLVVN representatives provided the opportunity for extensive G2G bilateral consultations on topics high on the agenda of both countries and the EU.
Growing stronger and resilient, together
Under the umbrella of the Dutch Day @ INDAGRA 2025, LAN-Bucharest and the NL Embassy in RO organized the conference "Growing stronger: resilient agri-food production for a changing Europe," which brought together officials, experts, and representatives of the business community from both countries.
The conference was opened by Ambassador Willemijn van Haaften together with State Secretary Violeta Mușat of the Romanian Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. On this occasion the RO State Secretary was presented the first copy of the booklet "Bridging Borders – Together for Green Education," which provides a overview of the last decade of Dutch-Romanian collaboration in the field of green education.
Conference key speakers included Ralf van de Beek (MinLVVN) and Jesse Schevel , Manager of Public, Government and International Affairs at Glastuinbouw Nederland, member of COPA-COGECA and farmer in the Netherlands. Their presentations were followed by a panel discussion with NL and RO experts.
Romania’s priorities and complementarities with the Netherlands
The Romanian official present at the conference gave an overview of the country’s priorities: the modernization and digitization of agriculture through investments in smart technologies, sustainable water management, and expanding irrigation, as well as increasing domestic food processing, supporting young farmers, and increasing the resilience of family farms and cooperatives. In this context, technical collaboration with the Netherlands, renowned for its expertise in water management and agricultural innovation, was deemed of strategic importance. The Netherlands has also been recognized as a global example of productivity and innovation, and Romania could benefit from collaboration in the fields of greenhouse technologies, digitization, circular agriculture, genetics, and vocational training.
From field to future
Jesse Schevel's brilliant presentation, "From field to future," addressed a variety of current topics from the perspective of European farmers. Starting by presenting the changes expected in Brussels regarding the new multiannual financial framework, he went on to say that in a Europe that wants to decarbonize without deindustrializing, farmers are not the problem of climate change, but rather the solution! "We are entering a new era, one in which agriculture and energy are no longer two separate worlds, but are part of the same ecosystem" – giving the example of the Netherlands, where greenhouses are no longer energy consumers but producers, and manure is increasingly used in biogas production. Schevel believes that Romanian farmers are sitting on a gold mine when it comes to renewable energy: solar, geothermal, as well as vast spaces. In conclusion: "How can we transform all the challenges facing agriculture (energy, water, plant health, competitiveness)?" In the expert's opinion, the answer is: through partnerships! Partnerships between countries, between sectors, between generations.
Turning challenges into opportunities
The members of the panel that followed, comprising leading experts in Romanian agriculture – Florian Ciolacu (Romanian Farmers' Club), Teofil Dascălu (FAPPR farmers’ forum and Frizon farm), Florentin Bercu (UNCSV union of cooperatives), Ștefan Velea (Holland Farming Agro greenhouse), joined by Jesse Schevel – this time in his capacity as a Dutch farmer – and (agricultural climate and innovation) consultant Bart de Vries, had an extremely interesting discussion on how the resilience of the agri-food sector can be increased, in the face of climate change and economic and geopolitical pressures. Concrete on-farm examples were presented, as well as complex visions about the role of education, association, (sometimes missing) know-how and, in general, the importance of exchanging experiences and ideas.
“Resilient&Sustainable.Together”
As Agricultural Counsellor Sophie Neve concluded, half a day was hardly enough to cover such an extensive and actual topic. However, this part of the programme was meant as a modest contribution to building up resilience in our agri-food systems. It was also the concluding moment for this year’s campaign “Resilient&Sustainable.Together”, another initiative of the LAN-Bucharest meant to put into the spotlight the possible contribution of the Dutch agri complex to building up the resilience of the RO agri-food sector.
Continued G2G dialogue
MinLVVN and Embassy representatives continued the dialogue started at the conference, this time at the premises of the Romanian Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. The G2G bilateral consultations resulted into a valuable exchange of views and exploration of opportunities for NL-RO cooperation, thanks to the presence of State Secretary Musat and DGs and experts of the RO Ministry of Agriculture.
Business opportunities: Dutch solutions for the Romanian agri-food sector
Business opportunities were identified for all mission members during the matchmaking session organised on the basis of a thorough analysis of each company profile and goals on the RO market. In addition, valuable insights were gained during the two separate info-sessions: one on the RO livestock & organic fertiliser sector, by Jan Roefs of NCM, and the second one on RO protected horticulture, by Andrei Beca of Verde AG (and master student at WUR).
Seeing is believing
The two field visit programmes (for livestock and horticulture) provided the mission companies with the unique opportunity to see in practice how Romanian agriculture looks like and ask questions directly to major RO player on the RO market. Openness of RO hosts was extremely appreciated, therefore many thanks to: MegaImage (AholdDelhaize), Tomate Fresh (mid tech plastic greenhouse grower), Prestoagri (high tech glasshouse grower), Fatrom (animal feed + pig production), EcoFerm (dairy farm, part of the large Cristim group).
Conclusion
The Dutch Day at INDAGRA 2025 occasioned by the NL agri-trade mission to Romania reconfirmed the joint commitment of the two countries to developing a resilient, sustainable, and competitive European agri-food sector based on innovation, education, and cooperation. At all levels: B2B, G2G, K2K and K2B. To be continued with concrete follow-up and spin-off!
Organisation team
RO-based: Sophie Neve, Anda Popescu, Delia Hotea (LAN-Bucharest/NL Embassy)
NL-based: Ineke van de Weijgaert (MinLVVN)