Farewell Wijnand Sukkel: "Agriculture can be cleaner and more environmentally friendly"

As a child, Wijnand Sukkel loved being in the countryside. Or helping a farmer with jobs on the farm. He had a great fascination for nature and farming. "But sadly, I saw agriculture changing before my eyes," he says. "The pigsties got bigger, and I experienced firsthand the incredibly animal-unfriendly conditions in livestock transport. The varied grassland with wooded banks and ditches turned into vast fields of silage maize, where manure was dumped," he recalls vividly. He saw how market pressure and the use of mechanisation, fertilisers and pesticides led to specialisation and economies of scale. Large fields of genetically almost identical crops made the work more efficient, both technically and economically. "But the limits of this approach have been reached," Sukkel argues. "With a different perspective, we can significantly improve biodiversity, environmental performance, resilience as well as productivity."

Current farming practices face major challenges. Climate change puts additional pressure on the system, and monocultures make crops vulnerable to diseases and pests, says Wijnand Sukkel. "Take a disease like late blight in potatoes. If one plant is affected, the disease can quickly spread across the entire field due to the lack of barriers." Natural predators of pests, such as spiders and beetles that can devour harmful aphids, also struggle in large-scale, intensive farming systems. "The constant disturbance makes it hard for them to find food or hiding places," Sukkel explains. Moreover, heavy machinery increasingly damages the soil structure, affecting yields, nitrogen efficiency and resistance to very wet or dry conditions. "Climate change has greatly enhanced this problem." According to Sukkel, agriculture needs to become cleaner, more resilient and more biodiverse. "At the same time, however, high production remains necessary. After all, with our fertile soils and relatively favourable climate, we have an important responsibility for food supply."

Soil and diversity

Wijnand Sukkel has devoted his entire career at WUR to improving the agricultural system. "I still have young children, and they are an important driver for me in my commitment to help make agriculture more sustainable. I am convinced that it is possible to design a highly productive, sustainable food system that can accommodate biodiversity and nature."

According to Sukkel, this is all about the combination of three elements: soil, crop and nature.

Soil: improving structure and life

"Soil structure is a problem in the Netherlands," says Sukkel. The pressure of heavy machinery and intensive tillage affects the soil. This can be improved by using lighter machines or confining traffic to specific traffic lanes, with machines always travelling along the same tracks. In addition, attention to soil life and soil chemistry is essential.

Crop: diversity offers opportunities

According to Sukkel, crops are all about diversity. "Crop rotation, intercropping, strip cultivation or agroforestry are ways to increase crop diversity. We know from research that this can improve disease and pest resistance, biodiversity and even productivity." Yet diversity also has its drawbacks. "Our current agricultural machinery is designed for monocultures. Take sprayers or irrigation systems which treat large, uniform fields. We need to find solutions for that."

Nature: green-blue infrastructure

Sukkel stresses the importance of non-productive elements like ditches, field edges, hedges, shrubs and trees. "This green-blue infrastructure on farms must be connected to those in the surrounding area. Together with healthy soil and crop diversity, this contributes to biodiversity and makes production systems more resilient."

There is already awareness among farmers and policy makers that the farming system needs to change, according to Sukkel. "But low costs of labour remain crucial in arable farming. Robots can help make these systems profitable." He outlines a future where heavy tractors are replaced by light, unmanned, clean machines. "Robotisation is now taking off. For example, there is a robot that uses a camera to recognise weeds and then sprays a minuscule amount of herbicide on them. The challenge now is to make these kinds of robots reliable in all conditions."

Farm of the Future

An important place for innovation in agriculture is the Farm of the Future, which Wijnand Sukkel co-founded. Here, researchers and farmers test new technologies and applications in crop diversity and sustainable soil management. "We combine knowledge and measures from different disciplines to create the most sustainable farm system possible," Sukkel says. The goal is clear: develop solutions that give nature and landscape a permanent place in agriculture, while minimising emissions to the environment to zero.

Need for social change

To change the entire food system, Sukkel says social change is needed. "Every year, 3,000 farmers, policy makers and other interested parties visit the Farm of the Future. We have become a platform for dialogue. Away from polarisation, we inspire each other." Sukkel has personally learned a lot from organic farmers. "Their professionalism and enthusiasm have given us ideas, like the controlled traffic system and strip cropping. These concepts emerged from inspiration sessions with both organic and conventional farmers. The Farm of the Future is a link between science and practice and contributes to the transition to a more sustainable food system."

Innovations can improve agriculture, but they need a clear vision, stresses Wijnand Sukkel. "Innovations like precision farming make it possible to locate anomalous spots in a plot. But what do you subsequently do with those places?", he asks. "Do you treat those spots so that they become like the rest of the crop, or do you choose to embrace diversity? Perhaps you will sow a different crop or flower mixture on that piece of land." This approach reflects Sukkel's message for the next generation of farmers and researchers. "Dare to look beyond the current farming system. Everyone said that strip cropping was impossible, but we have made great progress. Believe in change and embrace complexity."

On 22 November, Wijnand Sukkel will step down after more than 35 years. He will remain indirectly involved in WUR to transfer his knowledge and experience to the next generation.