Arne Bac, sector specialist horticulture at Rabobank.
Sustainable leaders in Dutch greenhouse horticulture who are, for example, MPS-A + or MPS-ProductProof certified, can qualify for an impact loan from Rabobank. This is evident from the Vision for Agriculture and Horticulture 2030 that was published at the end of October. These frontrunners can apply for a loan with favorable conditions, such as an interest discount. “In this way, we hope that companies will still make that sustainable investment, because they will earn back the investment more easily because of the interest rate advantage,” says Arne Bac, sector specialist horticulture at Rabobank.
With the Vision for Agriculture and Horticulture 2030, Rabobank wants to help entrepreneurs with the transition to a sustainable business policy. In the coming years, six transitions will give direction to sustainable changes in Dutch agriculture and horticulture: demand-driven chains, circular agriculture, an area-oriented approach, climate transition, precision agriculture and horticulture and enhanced entrepreneurship. “Floriculture is also becoming more sustainable based on this philosophy. The environmental burden has to go down and we have to talk about who is most and least entitled to the environmental utilization space, ”says Bac.
Innovations
This year, Rabobank is offering one billion euros in impact loans to help make the Dutch floriculture sector, among other things, more sustainable. “By making the impact loan available to frontrunners, we hope to encourage the middle group to take the next step,” says Bac. But why not make the impact loan also available to the large middle group? “Ultimately, it is the front runners who come up with innovations. These innovations require a significant investment and that’s where the impact loan comes in. The past five years that the impact loan was available show that companies are investing more quickly in innovations with the help of this loan. Ultimately, the large middle group takes over the innovations. In this way we stimulate the middle group to adopt these innovations, which also improves their sustainability performance. ”
The Dutch horticultural sector is economically and socio-culturally important, but at the same time the sector is under pressure due to the use of environmental space. Not every sector is equally entitled to this space. Greenhouse horticulture is not soil-bound and has more options than, for example, arable farming to become more sustainable; after all, the cultivation of greenhouse horticulture does not take place in the open air, but in the greenhouse. Bac: “We hope that growers who are entitled to the impact loan, for example, build a new, sustainable greenhouse or that they reduce energy consumption via a dehumidification installation.”
Two reasons
Innovations resulting from “het Nieuwe Telen” (New Cultivation) also reduce gas costs, for example, so that the investment pays for itself quickly. The investment made by means of the impact loan must in any case become more sustainable. Bac: “We often see that growers have two reasons for the investment. The investment makes production more sustainable and on the other hand it ensures that production costs go down. ”
Over 30 years ago, my journey at MPS began after I saw an advertisement in the newspaper. After the birth of my daughter, I was looking to return to work and joined the data entry department. At the time, all data was still entered manually from paper forms. Since then, I have seen the organisation grow and change, and I have grown along with it.Today, I work in the Service & Support department. No two days are the same: one day I help a customer with questions about record-keeping, the next I help them understand requirements from the auction or the UO. It is precisely this variety and the personal contact with customers that make my work interesting every day.
In 2008, I joined MPS through a recruitment agency as a secretary. I then held various positions within MPS and MPS-ECAS, including roles in the Service & Support team and as a planner. In 2018, I left the organisation for a while, but in 2023 I returned to MPS-ECAS as a back-office employee. The people are simply too much fun and the world of ornamental horticulture is so innovative that it kept drawing me back. Shortly afterwards, I started working at MPS as Coordinator Netherlands.
During the final year of my Environmental Sciences degree, I joined MPS for an internship. The internship worked out so well for both sides that I was able to stay afterwards. It felt like a natural next step, because I immediately felt at home here and was given the opportunity to continue developing myself.My work is very varied. I work on different projects and products, carry out research and analyses and contribute to practical solutions. I also manage various systems, support customers with complex technical questions and work with external parties. It is precisely this combination that makes my work interesting and ensures that no two weeks are the same.
I first joined MPS through a friend who worked in MPS’s student team. I continued working here while studying Commercial Economics, and at the end of my studies, in 2004, MPS asked if I wanted to join the organisation permanently. It seemed like a great opportunity, and more than twenty years later, I am still here.No two days are the same, and that is exactly what makes my work so enjoyable. A large part of my week consists of project meetings and translating needs from within the organisation into practical solutions. Thursday afternoon is a regular fixture, which I set aside with a colleague to make MPS 1% better every week. For example, we experiment with AI, build prototypes, improve processes or develop new ideas. The goal is always to work smarter and create more value for colleagues, customers and the organisation.