More ornamental cultivation in agriculture

In 2000 horticultural products accounted for nearly 38 percent of total agricultural production. In 1996 just under one third of agricultural production consisted of horticultural products. The increase has put the economic significance of horticulture above that of cattle farming.

Share of horticultural sector in total agricultural production

Ornamental cultivation, horticulture under glass and open ground

Within horticulture, growing ornamental plants in particular has become more popular. Together, ornamental cultivation in glasshouses and growing bulbs and other plants in the open ground account for one quarter of the national agricultural product; in 1996 this was still only twenty percent. Ornamental cultivation under glass - roses, other cut flowers and plants - grew by sixteen percent between 1996 and 2001, to account for one seventh of total agricultural activities. This is more than the economic value of total arable production, while arable farmers use one hundred times as much land.

In the open ground, too, the cultivation of ornamental plants has become more popular, unlike the cultivation of fruit and vegetables. The economic value of ornamental plants grown in the open ground is nearly three times that of fruit and vegetables. In 1996 the economic value of ornamental plants was just over fifty percent larger than that of vegetables and fruit. More tulips, ornamental shrubs, trees and bedding plants in particular were grown.

Folkert van der Werf