Gluten-free and insect-friendly: buckwheat returns to Dutch farms

Organic farmer Kees Sijbenga stares at the sea of ​​white and pale pink flowers in front of him. It's mid-July and millions of tiny buckwheat flowers (Fagopyrum esculentum) are swaying in the wind on the plot he cultivates in the Dutch province of Drenthe. Sijbenga is delighted that the crop is teeming with a multitude of pollinating insects. "I'm so happy growing buckwheat," says the third-generation farmer.

Sijbenga is one of 23 farmers in the provinces of Groningen and Drenthe, in the north-east of the Netherlands which are part of an ambitious nature-friendly agricultural project to restore buckwheat cultivation in the country.

Flou Buckwheat, made from the seeds of the plant, is a key ingredient in popular Dutch dishes such as pannenkoeken (thin, flat pancakes) and poffertjes (mini- fluffy pancakes), but almost all the flour is imported. "At the beginning of the 19th century, buckwheat was the second most cultivated crop in the country, after rye", explains Peter Brul, adviser on organic agriculture. "It was a staple in the country at the time."

But with increasing access to synthetic fertilizers in the 20th century, farmers turned to more lucrative and higher-yielding crops. “Potatoes have become the staple food and buckwheat cultivation has completely disappeared,” says Brul. ="model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.ImageBlockElement" class="dcr-10khgmf">

In 2019, Brul embarked on a serious effort to revive buckwheat cultivation in the Netherlands . The fact that it's gluten-free, high in antioxidants and high in fiber has boosted the market, but Brul's efforts are also boosted by its reputation as a pollinator-friendly crop. More than half of the bee species in the Netherlands are endangered and pollinator-friendly agriculture is key to their conservation.

In a pilot project four years ago , a farmer from Groningen grew buckwheat on a one-hectare plot with advice from Brul. The experiment was considered a success and now 23 farmers produce the crop on 85 hectares scattered across Groningen and Drenthe. "What has worked well so far is that farmers are interested and we could expand the program," says Brul.

Buckwheat, a crop of grows well in the poor, sandy soils of the eastern Netherlands. The crop has few known pests or diseases although it is extremely susceptible to frost - in 2021 each hectare grown produced an average of 1,750 kg of seed (with hull), slightly below the target of 2,000 kg , mainly due to poor weather conditions during flowering.