In 2023, the turnover from multifunctional agriculture in the Netherlands reached approximately 1.68 billion euros, a significant increase compared to previous years. This growth is attributed to the post-corona recovery, inflation, the expansion of activities, and further professionalization.
‘Multifunctional agriculture’ refers to farms offering services beyond traditional farming, such as healthcare, childcare, farm sales, nature management, recreation, and farm education. This type of agricultural diversification not only strengthens the economic stability of rural areas but also plays a key role in social care, education, and nature conservation, according to a press release.
Turnover of Multifunctional Agriculture
In 2023, farm sales led the way with €595 million in revenue, followed by care farming (€450 million) and recreation (€362 million). Agricultural childcare generated €158 million, nature management €116 million, and farm education €0.9 million.
The growth in turnover is attributed to several factors, including the introduction of new activities such as direct sales of ornamental crops, higher rates driven by inflation, and increased demand for recreation, local products, and professional care services.
The leisure sector has made a strong recovery following the pandemic. After a sharp 35% decline in turnover in 2020, revenue more than doubled in 2023 compared to 2020.
The number of farms offering additional activities has also increased, now making up over a third (37%) of all farms. Dairy farms are particularly active in education, nature management, and childcare, while care farming and recreation are more common on other grazing farms.
Why Choose Extra On-Farm Services?
“It’s not just an alternative for farms that are struggling financially, said Researcher Harold van der Meulen of Wageningen Social & Economic Research, adding that farmers choose multifunctional agriculture very consciously.
“As an entrepreneur, you have to have passion, you have to have feeling for it. And the conditions have to be right. It may be that the location of your farm, for example in a tourist spot, meets a need. Or that your partner or children have experience with multifunctional activities and see opportunities in this as a company to generate extra income and make a connection with society.”
Source of Data
The ‘Monitor omzetontwikkeling Multifunctionele Landbouw 2023’ was carried out by researchers from Wageningen Social & Economic Research (WSER) and Business Unit Field Crops, commissioned by the Ministry of LVVN. As in previous publications in the ‘View on Multifunctional Agriculture’ series, data from the CBS agricultural census form the basis for the study on numbers of farms. Based on data from sector organisations, through interviews with people from the sectors involved and a literature study, like in previous publications, a best possible estimate was made of the actual numbers of farms and turnover.
