‘Feeding the City’ programme competing for title ‘2014 National Icon’
Tailor-made solutions for growing metropolises
The Hague – 2 July 2014 - Dutch top sectors Agriculture and Food, and Horticulture and
Propagation Material have submitted the joint programme ‘Feeding the City’ to compete to
be named a 2014 National Icon. The competition selects three innovative projects or
programmes which have the potential to contribute substantially to the revenue model in the
Netherlands and beyond, and to have great social impact. Selected projects will enjoy Dutch
government support in the form of international exposure.
The world’s population is growing rapidly, urbanization continues at a swift pace, and raw
materials and natural resources are becoming increasingly scarce. How can we meet the
challenges posed by all these mouths to feed? The Dutch top sectors hold the key. The
Netherlands is a global leader in efficient and sustainable food production. If all agricultural
land and cattle worldwide would produce the same yields as we see in the Netherlands,
global food production would increase threefold. And, perhaps more importantly, only a
fraction of the water, fertiliser and plant protection products would be required.
Through the Feeding the City programme, Dutch top sectors Agriculture and Food, and
Horticulture and Propagation Material use their knowledge and expertise to offer solutions for
the social challenges that stem from global urbanisation and an increasing demand for food
worldwide. The programme provides tailor-made solutions at the national, regional or city
level that contribute to the production of more and safer food, with higher nutritional value
and a lower impact on the environment. The programme aims to position the Netherlands as
the prime brand for innovative, social and sustainable food production.
“The programme’s strength lies in the cooperation between Dutch businesses, knowledge
institutes, and government,” says Feeding the City ambassador Meiny Prins. “Far from being
limited to the two sectors mentioned above, this is about cross-fertilization between all the
different sectors. One good example is integrating residual wastes and energy back into the
food supply chain, thus making processes more cyclical.”