Agriculture in Flanders
In Flanders, intensive sectors constitute the largest segment of agriculture: pig breeding, poultry and dairy farming, vegetables and fruit, and ornamental plant culture.
In Wallonia, the French-speaking part of Belgium, the emphasis is more on arable farming and extensive soil-based cattle breeding.
Over the last years, the cultivated area and the number of holdings has steadily increased, in part under the impulse of the Strategic Action Plan for Organic Agriculture, from which the second programme is running from 2013 to 2017.
In 2013, the final production value of the Flemish agricultural and horticultural sectors’ sales activity was estimated at 5,5 billion euros.
Belgium has an 8% share of total agricultural exports from the EU-28 and thus holds the fifth place in the EU ranking, after Germany, the Netherlands, France and Spain.
Aclassification of municipalities with similar agricultural activity shows the typical regions: fruit around Sint-Truiden and vegetables around Sint-Katelijne-Waver, Roeselare and Hoogstraten.
Pig breeding makes its home in West Flanders, Meetjesland, Waasland and the Campine.
Cattle are primarily found in the region around Bruges, the southern parts of West and East Flanders and in combination with arable farming in Flemish Brabant and South Limburg.
In contrast, the increasing livestock from 2008 and the increasing number of cogeneration plants (combined heat and power) in greenhouses are the main reasons that there is no decrease in energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions and potential acidifying emissions.
The excess of self-produced electricity from its own cogeneration or solar panels is in practice put back on the net and is not necessarily used by the agricultural sector.
In 2011, total emissions of greenhouse gases from agriculture amounted to 8 636 kt CO2 equivalents, a decrease of 19% compared to 1990.
The exact contribution of Flemish agricultural emissions to total air PM concentrations and to negative health effects is not well known.
Other international developments affect agriculture in Flanders, too: the growing world population, climate change, the depletion of fossil fuels and non-renewable raw materials, price fluctuations of food products, the policy concerning genetically modified organisms.
In the future, the agricultural sector will also be confronted with an increasing liberalisation of world trade and globalisation of food chains.
The reformed Common Agricultural Policy for the period 2014-2020 is strongly linked to the overall Europe 2020 strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth.
For the overall agricultural and horticultural sector, the share of direct support in the farm income is on average 24%.
A survey conducted in 2012 among the participants of the Farm Accountancy Data Network showed that the average satisfaction of the farmers is 6.5 out of ten.
Innovation helps to maintain competitiveness, but can also meet global challenges such as feeding the growing world population, the supply of adequate fiber, biomass and bio-materials and the limited availability of natural resources.
More than half of the companies mainly invests in machinery and infrastructure such as sheds and greenhouses, followed by innovations in marketing, such as the switch to another distribution channel or the start with various forms of short-chain sales.
In third place come organizational innovations, such as the recruitment of additional workers, the takeover by a new manager and the adaptation of the legal structure.
A major problem for agriculture is the price-making The farmer is faced with rising commodity prices which makes production more expensive.
Input prices, costs for energy, feed and machinery, exhibit both in Belgium and the EU on an upward trend.
On the other hand, the primary sector must withstand consolidated chain links such as processing and distribution.
