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The reason we started with insects 42 years ago is because when companies...
began introducing insects, we believed in this right away from the beginning.
Spraying plants (with chemicals) also damages the plants.
There’s less photosynthesis because spraying forms a protective layer.
With insects you can control pests really well...
and the food produced this way is super clean.
Traditionally we always applied insects...
and in organic production you can only use insects to control pests.
This project succeeded really well.
We control aphids with seven different species of aphid fighters, beneficial insects.
At any time there is an ecological balance in the greenhouse;
a pest is always there but we determine how far it can develop...
by applying the insects and determining the amount of aphids...
by scouting: we always have three people who constantly monitor the aphids.
With this information we determine...
how many beneficial insects to apply.
There are different benefits and perspectives.
On the one hand, consumers benefit,
e.g., the resulting tomatoes or peppers available in the supermarket...
are cleaner and therefore healthier.
The producer is happy to be able to provide cleaner products...
and hopes to get better prices for cleaner wares.
On the other hand, producers benefit economically.
They don’t have to use chemical pesticides.
And I mean greenhouse vegetable producers.
Other benefits include employing highly educated personnel from universities.
We need such people to support beneficial pest use in greeneries.
Currently we use biological measures for approximately 70% of all pest control.
But there are still some problems.
We’ve worked eight years to reach this level and we’re not giving up.
Amazing things happen in the fields...
when a producer starts to spray less
There are often positive effects.
Chemical pesticides are so cheap that producers tend to apply them too easily.
We notice that if producers stop spraying and...
if there is nature on the site surrounding the open fields –
we also see this happening in greenhouses – nature, as it were, flies in or walks in.
I even think that even if we would use placebos...
step-by-step nature would return.
But since we have monocultures, we have to help nature.
We also think that university research is important,
e.g., at Wageningen and Leiden Universities.
And there are many more universities in the Netherlands and EU...
where research needs to be continued.
The government has to ensure the ongoing support of research institutes.
If that doesn’t happen, if knowledge is lacking,
everything is put into the hands of industry and...
I doubt if this would lead to the best solutions.
The government could play a leading role in ensuring success.
I implore the government to give the research institutes...
enough financial resources to continue developing knowledge.