The scenario below imagines how a Dutch greenhouse grower, with a typical monoculture of a common vegetable crop, could transition to polyculture production in a gradual and profitable way. This process illustrates the steps a grower could take in making this transition, as well as some of the costs and earnings he might incur. THEORETICAL CASE STUDY Consider a fictional grower, Jaap, who currently has ten hectares of greenhouse tomato production. If we assume that Jaap has an overall yield of 60 kilograms of tomatoes per m2 and is able to sell these an average price of 0,60 euro cents per kilogram, he has an annual revenue of 3,600,000 euros for his ten hectares, or around 360.000 euros per hectare. His operating costs must stay below 36 euros per square meter and he must sell all of his product in order for his operation to break even. With rising energy prices, high labor costs, and changing market conditions, Jaap’s business needs to be a tightly managed operation to ensure that it continues to run successfully. SHIFTING TOWARDS POLYCULTURE The two perennial polyculture designs presented in this report generate a projected 350.000 - 600.000 euros per hectare in retail crop value, and the annual polyculture design has a retail crop value of up to 2,5 million euros per hectare. At first glance, it would seem unwise for Jaap to move to any production method that results in a cut in revenue, such as with the perennial systems. This move begins to make a great deal of financial sense when we reframe Jaap’s production approach and marketing strategy to one that is focused on diverse local production. To understand this, we consider the following situation: › Jaap decides to shiſt part of his production to a diverse polyculture system. He reduces the total area of his green› He grows a mix of cold-tolerant crops in the winter months that provide a continued product supply without the need for supplemental heating. Some of these crops can be stored in the ground to maintain optimal freshness and harvested directly in step with demand (onions, root vegetables, leeks). › His labor costs remain consistent, while his energy costs drop significantly because two of Jaap’s hectares no longer require winter heating or supplemental light. › The diversity of products that Jaap is now producing allows him to develop and sell through local retail channels: directly to customers through a farm subscription, to local markets and restaurants, and through a shop that is jointly operated by him and his neighboring growers. › The extra marketing costs, which can be significant, are shared between the three growers in the consortium. If a single grower is paying for all of his own marketing, we estimate that this could cost up to 30% of the value of the produce. When shared between growers, the cost to each company should go down significantly, though this is highly dependent on the particular arrangement. house devoted to tomato production from 10 to 8 hectares. › Jaap switches over the other two hectares of greenhouse production to a combination of other crops grown in polyculture (tree fruits, berries, and a year-round annual polyculture, as described later in this document). › In cooperation with some neighboring growers - a cucumber producer and a pepper producer, they form a consortium that shares the responsibility for developing a local marketing strategy. making polyculture profitable NEW SALES APPROACH The result is that Jaap is now producing 4,8 million kilograms of tomatoes per year instead of the 6 million kilograms he was producing previously. The average European per capita consumption of tomatoes is around 20 kilograms per capita per year. Thus, by producing 4,8 million kilograms of tomatoes, Jaap produces enough for 240.000 people’s annual consumption. Jaap continues to sell the majority of his tomatoes through normal wholesale channels. However, with his newly diversified product portfolio and his partnership with two other growers, he now also sells products into retail sale through a local shop near one of his partner’s greenhouses. If he reaches around 5.000 local customers and is able to sell 80.000 kilograms of these tomatoes locally for a retail price of 3.00 euros, he receives 240.000 euros. This local sale is facilitated by the production of complimentary products (berries, tree fruits, other vegetables), which Jaap now also produces on his two remaining hectares and is able to offer in the cooperative shop. He sells these products at a total price of 2.000.000 euros to the same 5.000 local customers (each spending an average of 400 euros at his farm over the course of the year). He sells an additional 100.000 kilograms of mixed products to local restaurants and markets at an average price of 3 euros per kilograms, earning an additional 300.000 euros. The remainder of his tomatoes (an estimated 4,6 million kilograms) is sold at regular wholesale prices for an average of 60 euro cents, earning Jaap a further 2,76 million euros. Thus, Jaap sells his products for a total of 5,3 million euros, a potential 47% increase on his original revenue. Pagina 18
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