Increasing crop diversity: the benefits and the administrative challenges

“To stimulate interactions between crops, you’d ideally mix them together, but that’s not practical for farmers,” explains WUR researcher Erik Poelman. “Strip cropping is a workable alternative. Farmers can grow multiple crops on the same field without overly complicating their operations.” Poelman is part of the CropMix research programme, which investigates the potential of crop diversity.

Although strip cropping offers many benefits, farmers also face challenges that CropMix aims to address through Living Labs. A major issue is the so-called combined declaration – a mandatory record in which farmers register their crops and fields with RVO. With strip cropping, every strip must be identified as a separate field. This makes the process much more time-consuming compared to traditional monoculture farming.

A field in Groningen

Peter Harry Mulder, a farmer in Groningen, knows all about this. He grows crops like potatoes, sugar beets, and grains on 68 hectares of land. From a young age, he’s been connected to nature, having been a member of a nature club and studying farmland and grassland birds in his youth. “As a arable farmer, I don’t just focus on food production; I also aim to contribute to biodiversity and landscape improvement,” he says.

Mulder employs non-inversion tillage and creates natural field edges – not only along the outer borders of his fields but also within them. “This is great for insects and also for rare partridges,” he explains.

Mulder’s approach aligns well with the principles of strip cropping. At the request of researchers, he has started experimenting with this farming method. “I’m trialling it on a 20-hectare field with strips that are 27 metres wide. Many of my machines are designed for that width, so I don’t need to completely change the way I work,” he says. However, in addition to reorganising his land, Mulder also noticed an increased administrative burden when completing the combined declaration. “Instead of a few fields, I now have to register many more strips. It takes significantly more time.”

RVO is aware of the issue

Farmers are required to record their fields in RVO’s online registration system, Mijn Percelen (My Fields), where each strip must be entered as a separate field, explains Carla Overgaauw from RVO. This can lead to a sharp increase in the number of fields recorded. “If you use narrow strips and grow multiple crops, the number of fields can rise from 20 to a multiple of that. A small comfort: the layout only needs to be entered once, as it can be reused in future years.”

Essential data

Even so, the registration process remains time-consuming. However, the data is essential, Overgaauw emphasises. “It’s needed for applications for European subsidies and is also used by organisations like Statistics Netherlands (CBS) and cooperatives such as Avebe and Cosun. While the obligation to provide this data will remain, we’re exploring ways to reduce the administrative burden for strip-cropping farmers.”

A new tool may provide relief

WUR and RVO are working on a new tool to simplify administration for strip-cropping farmers, says WUR researcher Frits van Evert. “The FarmMaps software is being updated, allowing farmers to easily outline their strips on a map and specify their dimensions. This removes the need for manual entry. We’re currently working on connecting it to RVO’s database.”

Solutions for recording crop types per strip are also being developed. “We’re considering options like direct links to farmers’ own farm management systems or tools that let you easily specify which crops are grown in each strip,” Overgaauw explains. “For example, all strips that had onions last year can now be marked as growing potatoes.”

Poelman is optimistic about the progress. “By collaborating with the right partners, we can solve these challenges. This will make strip cropping a practical and appealing option for more farmers.”