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Future Food Utrecht is thrilled by last week’s announcement that the National Growth Fund programme Re-Ge-NL has received a conditional grant of €129 million. The programme focuses on regenerative agriculture in the Netherlands, stimulating a transition towards a more profitable and socially supported agricultural system that focuses on soil improvement and nature restoration. Re-Ge-NL was developed by Next Food Collective, Utrecht ľ¹Ï¸£ÀûÓ°ÊÓ, Wageningen ľ¹Ï¸£ÀûÓ°ÊÓ and Groningen ľ¹Ï¸£ÀûÓ°ÊÓ, collaborating with 54 partners from across the food system, including farmers’ cooperatives and networks.

On Friday 30 June 2023, the Dutch government announced its intention to invest 129 million Euros, subject to conditions, from the National Growth Fund (NGF) in the Re-Ge-NL innovation programme. This programme is designed to bring about the transition to a regenerative, profitable and socially supported agricultural sector.  
The Re-Ge-NL programme proposal has been submitted by the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality. It was developed by Next Food Collective, Wageningen ľ¹Ï¸£ÀûÓ°ÊÓ & Research, ľ¹Ï¸£ÀûÓ°ÊÓ of Groningen and Utrecht ľ¹Ï¸£ÀûÓ°ÊÓ in collaboration with 54 partners from across the food system. Farmers' cooperatives and networks, chain parties, financial institutions, knowledge & technology suppliers and educational & research institutions will jointly start implementation in 2024. Regenerative agriculture combines food production with ecosystem restoration, improvement of soil fertility, water management and biodiversity. In addition, regenerative agriculture can make a positive contribution to the social and economic position of farmers. In this way, it contributes to solving the broad environmental problems of Dutch agriculture and responds to the growing market demand for sustainable food production. 
  
Together towards the new normal
The Re-Ge-NL programme aims to solve bottlenecks in the transition to regenerative agriculture in close cooperation with the sector. By demonstrating in practice that the transition is feasible and attractive, Re-Ge-NL ensures a system change and transition acceleration. The practical goal of the programme for 1,000 Dutch farmers to actually make the transition by 2030 and that at least 10,000 farmers and advisors gain knowledge about regenerative farming practices. The ultimate goal is for agriculture with a positive impact on nature and climate to become the new normal.

About the National Growth Fund
The NGF is an initiative of the Ministries of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy and of Finance. With the NGF, the government is investing € 20 billion between 2021 and 2025 in projects that ensure sustainable economic growth for the long term. The NGF invests in projects with the most opportunities for structural and sustainable economic growth in the 2 areas of Knowledge Development and Research, Development and Innovation.