Periodic reporting on agricultural and horticultural policy

Dialogic has conducted a Periodic Report on agricultural and horticultural policy for the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security and Nature (LVVN) for the period 2019-2024. This report focuses on the extent to which the policy has contributed to a resilient, sustainable, and safe functioning agricultural and horticultural food system. It examines the effectiveness and efficiency of the policy and the instruments employed. The evaluation targets Article 21 of the LVVN budget and the components of Article 24 that support this policy area. The agricultural and horticultural policy has a broad central objective. LVVN aims for a resilient, sustainable, and safe functioning agricultural and horticultural food system that is internationally competitive, with a focus on animal welfare, careful use of natural resources, and efficient and high-quality utilization of yields and by-products. Within this central objective, eight sub-goals have been formulated: - Strengthening the competitiveness of sustainable agri-chains. - Promoting food security worldwide. - Ensuring food safety and food quality. - Increasing societal appreciation of agriculture/food. - Sustainable production and consumption (through circular agriculture). - Promoting plant health. - Promoting animal health. - Promoting animal welfare. To achieve these goals, the ministry implements a comprehensive policy mix. A total of 104 instruments have been identified, with 46 classified as stimulating (e.g. subsidies, guarantees, loans), 26 as normative (e.g. enforcement and supervisory bodies), and 17 as knowledge dissemination (e.g. monitors). The remaining 15 instruments are a combination of the three categories. Most instruments are primarily aimed at the sub-goal of sustainable production and consumption, both in number (38% of the total) and financial scale (46% of the total). Effectiveness and efficiency: The report concludes that the policy mix is predominantly effective and demonstrable. The available evaluations provide sufficient basis for a positive indicative statement on the policy's contribution. The policy mix primarily contributes to a resilient, sustainable, and safe functioning agricultural and horticultural food system that is internationally competitive and prioritises animal welfare. The contribution to the careful use of natural resources and the efficient utilization of yields and by-products is more limited. The assessment of small efficiency – the efficiency of instrument execution – is predominantly positive. Many measures come with relatively low implementation costs. The assessment of large efficiency (the cost of an instrument relative to the societal returns of that instrument) is moderately positive. Recommendations: Based on the evaluation, the report makes several recommendations. An important recommendation is to reconsider, adjust, or abolish policy instruments with a negative assessment of large efficiency. This can make the policy mix more efficient and potentially allocate resources more effectively to other challenges within agriculture and horticulture. The report also advises clarifying the relationship between the central objective and the sub-goals. Some sub-goals, such as global food security and societal appreciation for agriculture and food, are not clearly reflected in the overarching objective. Additionally, the role of LVVN in these sub-goals is relatively limited, or the range of instruments available is limited. The report also highlights the importance of better indicators. Currently, indicators and target values are lacking for the central objective, and the coverage of indicators for the sub-goals is incomplete. Improved indicators are necessary to monitor progress and effectiveness more specifically in the future. Finally, the report presents policy options for the upcoming period. For future evaluations, it is proposed to establish a clear evaluation framework so that evaluations of individual policy instruments better align with subsequent Periodic Reports. Given the significant challenges facing the sector, the report recommends considering whether freed-up resources can be reallocated to measures contributing to the further development and sustainability of agriculture and horticulture. Report and follow-up: On 10 July 2026, the government responded to the periodic report on agricultural and horticultural policy. The policy response can be read [here](https://open.overheid.nl/details/2521bdc4-9f59-4f21-8b6d-daa894d7932d). The full report and the infographic of the periodic report outcomes can be found at the bottom of this post under the download button (next to team). [Link to infographic of periodical report outcomes](https://content.dialogiconderzoek.nl/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/periodieke-rapportahe.svg).