Kaoo
band
Unique Rabobank
Calendar
General Managers
go sailing in
Friesland
THE NETHERLANDS
Dutch agriculture
Water control and
land reclamation
Across the Dutch
borders
Since 1973 Rabobank
each year issues a typical
Dutch photo calendar in the
Netherlands. In 1988 1.6 mil-
lion copies of this calendar
were distributed. This means
that in 30% of Dutch house-
holds a Rabobank calendar is
hanging somewhere on the
wall. No other calendar is dis
tributed in such large numbers
in the Netherlands. The theme
chosen for 1989 is 'Homelife
in the Netherlands'. To a
Dutchman his home is very im
portant, on which he is pre-
pared to spend a great deal of
effort and money. He is con-
stantly tinkering in it, improv-
ing it, rebuilding it. The Nether
lands is a home-loving country.
This characteristic is ex-
pressed in thirteen magnifi-
cent photographs.
In the first week of June,
the third General Managers
Conference was held at
Utrecht. All the managers of
our foreign branches and the
ADCA-BANK were present. At
the meeting there were lively
discussions about the future
of Rabobank and the contribu-
tion expected from our foreign
offices in this respect. In addi-
tion, due consideration was
given to the aspect ot the joint
development of the business
of the offices and the organi-
sation in the Netherlands. It
was clear to the participants
that Rabobank is still very
much a Dutch bank. To stress
this point the International
Division organised a sailing
trip in traditional Dutch
barges for the managers on
The population density, the
high price of land and techno-
logical advances are factors
which have led to the intensive
cultivation of agricultural and
horticultural produce in the
Netherlands. Nearly 70% of
the land is under cultivation,
59% of it grassland, 35%
arable land and 6% horticultur
al land. In the years after the
Second World War the country
experienced unprecedented
economie growth, which was
parallelled in agriculture and
horticulture. Specialisation be-
came the order of the day;
erop growing was stepped up
and mechanisation made rapid
advances. For operations to be
profitable, however, the num-
ber of farms and businesses
and the labour force had to be
reduced. The European Eco
nomie Community's agricultur
al policy was aiming at the
same structural approach. As
a result of rationalisation and
increases of scale, the num-
ber of people working in agri
culture has dropped by more
than half and now constitutes
a mere 6% of the working
population. At the same time
there has been a dramatic in-
crease in agricultural produc
tion. The success of Dutch
agriculture is in no small
measure due to the skills and
knowledge of its farmers and
market gardeners, who are
backed up and kept up-to-date
by schools and colleges at all
levels.
Issue 2/September 23, 1988
the Sunday before the meeting.
Sailing in Friesland - in the
north of the country - means
sailing in the centre of the
area where the bulk of Dutch
milk is produced. It becomes a
fascinating experience, for
alongside the small canals
which link the lakes, cows
stand placidly gazing at
mankind afloat. The barges
were formerly used for fishing
in the shallow waters of Fries
land and the Zuyderzee. On
this occasion the General
Managers sailed on one of the
Frisian lakes, the Fluessen. Al-
though the average depth of
this lake is only 6 feet, it is
nevertheless famous for its
dangerous waves. Dutch
barges are very well suited for
sailing in shallow waters, but
have difficulties with high
waves. On that particular Sun
day afternoon a sudden gale
forced the General Managers
to do their utmost to stay
afloat.
More than half the Nether
lands lies below the water lev
els of the sea and rivers, so a
sound system of water control
is necessary in order to keep
the land dry and inhabitable.
The importance of this is clear
when one considers that 60%
of the population live in the
low-lying parts. Dunes and
dikes protect these areas
against water, both seawater
which can enter the land
through estuaries and inlets in
the coastline and by infiltra-
tion, and the water that is
brought in by the rivers, plus
the groundwater and rain. Nu-
merous modern pumping sta
tions work day and night to
drain off the excess water.
The last occasion on which the
sea made major inroads into
the land was on 1 February
1953 when large areas in the
south-western part of the
country were inundated. This
disaster, which cost 1,835
people their lives, brought
home how vital it was to carry
out the Delta project for clos-
ing off the estuaries in the
south-west. All these estuaries
have now been closed, with
the exception of the New Wa-
terway and the Western
Scheldt, which have to remain
open for shipping to Rotter
dam and Antwerp, respective-
ly. The Eastern Scheldt is
closed by a storm surge bar-
rier, 3,200 metres long, con-
sisting of piers between which
hang 62 steel gates. Under
normal conditions the gates
are open to permit tidal move-
ment in and out of the Eastern
Scheldt; in stormy weather
they will be lowered to protect
the estuary from the turbu-
lence of the sea. This method
of closure was chosen in order
to conserve the shellfish in
the Eastern Scheldt which are
dependent on tidal flow.
The engineers working on the
Delta Project were able to draw
on the experience gained at the
beginning of the 1930's when
the Zuyderzee was closed. This
entailed the construction of a
30 kilometre-long dam, known
as the Barrier Dam. This trans-
formed the Zuyderzee into an
inland lake, which gradually be-
came a freshwater lake as the
water supplied by the rivers
could no longer run out into the
open sea. Once enclosed, the
inland sea became known as
the IJsselmeer and work began
on draining enormous polders,
four of which have already been
completed and represent a to-
tal gain of 165,000 hectares
(407,000 acres).
The Netherlands is a small
country. Beyond its borders
you can only hear the Dutch
language spoken in the north-
ern part of Belgium. As a re
sult the Dutch are quite used
to having to communicate in
various languages. At school
they are taught English, Ger-
man and French. They travel a
lot, too, both for business and
for pleasure. When abroad
they consider it important to
adapt themselves as much as
possible to the customs of the
country they are visiting.
To help its business relations
Rabobank has issued a book-
let entitled: 'Nederland over
de grens' (Across the Dutch
borders). In alphabetical order
it gives a description of 107
different countries. It contains
customs regulations, useful
addresses, economie data, lo-
cal holidays, city maps, etc,
etc. Much attention is also
given to the commercial code
of conduct. All in all, a vital aid'
for the Dutch businessman.