Rens Kuijten was intrigued by the fact that quinoa has the same protein quality as cow milk when he heard about the seed in 2001. Now, Rens is the main player initiating the cultivation of quinoa in the Netherlands where the demand for quinoa is growing.
How It All Evolved
As the son of a dairy farmer, Rens needed to know more about quinoa when he was first introduced to the seed and in the end, he took it upon himself to promote the seed and to give it the name that it deserves. First, he conducted an international study on quinoa and shortly after he started figuring out how to set up a supply chain for Dutch quinoa.
Together with his two partners, Rens focuses on creating a short and transparent supply chain so as to nurse their shared passions: the primary sector and healthy foods.
The innovation case of the Dutch Quinoa Group is interesting as it evolved as a clear response to what the Dutch consumer wants. Furthermore, the case aims for shorter supply chains for quinoa and easier access to (gluten free) protein rich plant material for Dutch consumers as well as more (bio)diversity in the Dutch landscape.
Growing Quinoa in the Netherlands
As quinoa originally comes from Peru, it needs certain climatic conditions. Farmers interested in cultivating quinoa therefore have to run several tests to measure the feasibility of quinoa cultivation in the Netherlands. The productivity risk is a big challenge in the process. Farmers have to “sacrifice” good land to experiment with cultivating quinoa without knowing what the yields will be or whether there is a market for their product. A second challenge is choosing the right breed of quinoa to sow in the first place as quinoa has never before been cultivated in the Netherlands.
At the moment, there is a farmer in almost every province in the Netherlands who has testing fields with quinoa. As a consequence, several climatic and soil circumstances are being tested for their cultivation potential. In 2014, a total of 33 ha of quinoa were cultivated on 13 different farms. Most of the farmers who had testing plots in 2014 were sowing quinoa in 2015 as well.
The Demand for Quinoa Is Growing
Human consumption of quinoa in Western Europe is expected to grow by 20 % a year. For the Netherlands this is the equivalent of about 35 ha a year.
Other Stakeholders
Rens is assisted in his quest by several stakeholders. The Nuffield Farmers Trust Organisation (NFTO) was the first to respond to Rens’ request. The NFTO also supports them in other ways. Both LIB+ and ZLTO are involved in sharing their network and also in investing in the seeding phase of the project. Furthermore, support has come from LEI Wageningen UR that shared their experience with and knowledge on quinoa and did additional research. DLV Plant (an advisory firm) also saw a large potential in the quinoa crop for The Netherlands and therefore joined in on the project.
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