Rabobank has a feeling
for the wider social
context of agricultural
entrepreneurship 9
SECTOR SPECIAL F&A IN THE NETHERLANDS
Conditions for Success
Antoon Vermeer
Antoon Vermeer
A more sustainable production chain
22 ISSUE 23 MAY 2010 RI WORLD
"Rabobank's international F&A focus, together with its cast-
iron position in the Netherlands, makes for a very strong
combination. Rabobank currently has no competition in the
field of F&A, either nationally or internationally," Vermeer says.
'The strategy we have opted for is well-conceived and offers
clear-cut criteria for further growth. However, in order to
remain successful in the long term, the bank must meet a
number of conditions.
'The first condition is that local entrepreneurship must be
developed with respect to local banks. Rabobank Netherlands
also assumes - to too great a degree - that it has to cater to
local Rabobanks." Vermeer thinks that Rabobank will beableto
provide more clarity on this subject in 2011Local banks have
to bear responsibility in their field of workand shöuld do their
utmost when it comes to serving their own clients. Rabobank
Netherlands must focus more on disseminating knowledge so
that local banks can fulfil their task optimally. Experts can then
support local banks in certain situations whereby the support
they provide is small-scale and better focussed.
The second condition is that the bank must adhere closely to
its original core task. This task has always been to ensure that
people's savings are invested productively. "We have to work
on the basis of this simple condition. As a bank, you always
have to make choices. The two criteria we apply at Rabobank
are whether it is good for the cliënt and whether it is good
for the bank, so that we can continue to serve our clients in
the long-term. This is the framework within which we have
become, and shall continue to be, a great bank," Vermeer says.
Vermeer does not only have outspoken views on Rabobank,
but also on the sector in which he has become a true authority.
"Never before has there been so much interest among
consumers in a healthy diet and health in general," he says.
"At the same time, Dutch retailers are trying to win a greater
market share by slashing prices - at the expense of farmers
and market gardeners, who are having to supply retailers at
rock-bottom prices, at times even below cost price. Creating
a more sustainable production chain would be the primary
producers' salvation where this discussion is concerned," he
says. "It's all about added value. Farmers and market gardeners
have to cash in on this health trend - in other words they have
to supply added value but at higher prices. From the food
processing companies point of view, they have to concentrate
on innovation and on strengthening the relationship with their
suppliers, the farmers and the market gardeners." Vermeer uses the
development of Omega-3 milk as an example of the relationship
between processing companies and primary producers. Farmers
give their animals a specific type of feed to produce milk
containing fatty acids that help consumers maintain a healthy
heart and circulation. The dairy companies test the milk they are
supplied with and provide farmers with feedback they can use
to further improve their animal feed and, in turn, the milk. In this
way, the chain becomes increasingly intensive and the product
continues to improve, thus fitting in better with the demands of
the present-day consumer. Another good example is that of the
Dutch 'star system' used to rate poultry chickens and the 'Better
Leven' (meaning 'better lifeO label issued by the Dutch Animal
Welfare Organisation Dierenbescherming. These chickens grow
more slowly, have very few health problems and are given the space
to roam freely, and consumers are prepared to pay more for that.