The Netherlands

The Living Lab

The Netherlands is one of the most urbanised countries in the European Union with a population density of 523/km2. In 2015, however, about half of the surface area was used for agriculture, while about a third was for nature, water or used for recreation. Urban expansion threatens the future of rural areas while offering opportunities for new business models, among others, through various green, recreational and ecological services. At the same time, there is ongoing discussion about the need for agricultural production models to comply with environmental regulations. Women play an important role in agriculture and rural society but are less visible compared to men, particularly in agriculture.

About 25% of farm women co-manage the farm with their partner or parent but are usually not co-owners of the land. They are generally less well represented in the interests of organisations or committees engaged in sectoral and regional policy-making. Rural women are generally engaged in paid labour and many voluntary activities. How many of them are entrepreneurially active is impossible to establish given the significant lack of data to confirm the position of women in agricultural or rural areas. Currently, we are discussing with the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food about the collection of more gender-segregated data.

Living Lab Co-leads

News

Meet our women innovators

Sonja van Uden

Entrepreneur

Sonja van Uden
Entrepreneur

I am the founder of the Landdrift Foundation. I use my experience as an entrepreneur and manager in various industries and countries to develop a concept for multifunctional land use that promotes biodiversity. Different land use approaches face challenges related to legislation and economic devaluation of land when nature-inclusive practices are implemented. Landdrift believes that multifunctional land use will lead to increased value for humans and other species. The production of food, habitats for animal and plant species, human dwellings and so on can be combined to create a wild and abundant landscape.

Irene Beukeveld

Dairy farmer

Irene Beukeveld
Dairy farmer

I am Irene Beukeveld. I am married to Gerwin Beukeveld, and we have two children. We have a dairy farm with 135 cows and 50 young cows and calves in Holthone. We are a traditional farm with two robots for milking. We have 73 ha of land: (60 ha) grass and (13 ha) corn. Holthone is a beautiful little village in Overijssel with a lot of history. I worked for 16 years as a veterinarian assistant but I left 3 years ago and now I am working full-time on our farm. I take care of the calves and do the accountancy. I am still at the beginning of my new plan and searching for the right course. I started with sharing our story on several social media platforms; we have opened a dairy tap on our farm, and I have organised an open farm day in August. All with the idea to tell our story of living and working on a farm and to open up dialogue.

Albertine Ekkels

Food farmer

Albertine Ekkels
Food farmer

I am Albertine Ekkels, 33 years old, married to Bart, and we have two children. Together with my parents. I run an organic farm and Bart runs a sheep farm. He also has a conventional dairy farm and a self-service farm shop with a business partner. I am taking part in the Living Labs because I would like people to be aware of nature on the farm and of themselves within it. I would like to focus more on this aspect of the farm over the next few years. 

Ida Besten

Dairy farmer

Ida Besten
Dairy farmer

Ida Besten, (dairy) farmer’s wife and confidant. My own company is Boer en Mens (farmer and people) and I am a mentor and connector for the benefit of the mental health and well-being of people in the agricultural sector.
Both on and off the farm, I also organise farm pilgrimages and workshops (Be)Living on the farm.

Lonieke de Ruiter

Food farmer

Lonieke de Ruiter
Food farmer

I am a 48-year-old communication professional, running my own agency in communications since 2011, with a passion for agricultural business and international affairs. My approach focuses on dialogue and cooperation. I am a passioned interaction designer and I love to work with groups of people as a trainer or facilitator.
I am a mum of two teenagers. My partner lives at the former farm of his parents in the Achterhoek, surrounded by a plot of land that used to be cultivated conventionally. Now a pilot with Dutch soybeans is run there, and together we dream of planting a walnut orchard.

Dorieke Goodijk

Dairy farmer

Dorieke Goodijk
Dairy farmer

In 15 years, my husband Frank Smits and I have built a dairy camel farm with 100 camels, from scratch. Camel milk is produced and bottled on the farm and sold in a short supply chain from farm to consumer. Tourists visit the farm for activities. In recent years, we considered turning the farm into a regenerative farm. Camels are browsers, so including herbs and bushes on the farm may be interesting. Furthermore, hiring people to work on the farm is a challenge. Therefore, my focus in the Living Labs will be on attracting the right people and keeping them motivated to work on the farm and take over or invent more activities.

Marloes van Schaik

Dairy farmer

Marloes van SchaikDairy farmer

I am an organic dairy farmer in Benschop in Utrecht. I live with my partner and two sons. I also work as a policy specialist in multifunctional agriculture at LTO Nederland. The book ‘The Diary Cattle Evolution’ by Jan Willem Erisman & Koen van Wijk describes the lessons of the agricultural transition on the island of Schiermonnikoog. Lessons that they share include: ‘Involve both men and women in land use planning and policy-making.’ and ‘Involving the wives of the farmers in the process has led to more openness and different styles of collaboration’. It is important that agricultural women are given a more significant role in the territorial development processes that are to come.

Petra Commijs

Dairy farmer

Petra Commijs
Dairy farmer

We have a dairy farm that is in balance as regards the number of cows and land (1.45 LU /ha including young stock). We are working towards nature-inclusive livestock farming, which keeps the cattle on pasture, feeds them with grass from our land, and uses the manure in the fields. Our barn was built according to the latest standards of Maatlat-Duurzame-Veehouderij (MDV) and we have a total of 980 solar panels on the roof, providing us with enough electricity all year round. In addition, we use about 40 % of the milk for the on-farm processing of fresh dairy products and ice cream and deliver the products to local outlets. Our core values are passion, quality, sustainability and animal welfare and every decision we make must have a positive impact on at least one of these four core values. We also like to connect farmers and citizens by welcoming citizens to our farm. As part of GRASS CEILING, I am further developing my ideas for an experience farm: letting people smell, taste, feel and see everything.