b'harmony-with-nature narrative, associ-ated with organizations like Greenpeace, Milieudefensie, or Green parties, or you are seen as anti-sustainability altogether. There is very little space in between. That is deeply unhelpful.I see sustainability not as a single path-way, but as a stacking of approaches. There are farmers who feel at home in nature-in-clusive or organic systems. I do not always agree with their methods, but many of them are genuinely trying to do the right thing. The problem is that we treat this as the only legitimate form of sustainability.If we add a second, equally valid nar-rative, one that says sustainability can also mean producing much more on much less land, with lower inputs and smarter tech-nologies, we dramatically expand the coa-Hidde Boersma (left) and Joris Lohman (second from right) in Africa for their movie Future of Food.lition working toward environmental goals. Source: Hidde Boersma Suddenly, high-yield agriculture, advanced plant breeding, greenhouse horticulture, and the seed sector are not defensive actors trying to justify themselves, but central protagonists in the sustainability story.This matters because a narrative of abundance is simply more attractive and more scalable. It shows that it is possible to operate sustainably while becoming more prosperous, not poorer. Over the past 10, 20, and 30 years, we have accumulated a growing body of evidence that economic growth, food security, and environmental recovery can go hand in hand. That is an incredibly hopeful message.For countries like the Netherlands, this means moving toward a future where we produce far more food on far less land, freeing up space for nature while maintain-ing prosperity. But this perspective is even more crucial for regions such as sub-Saha-ran Africa, where food security, develop-ment, and environmental protection must advance together. Telling these countries Hidde Boersma and Karsten de Vreugd in Bangladesh for their documentary Well Fed.that sustainability requires stepping back Source: Hidde Boersma from modern agriculture is neither realistic nor fair.That is why I believe the high-yield Take the Westland as an example. Itural landscape, it does not fit the prevail- sector, from plant breeding and seed com-is one of the most land-efficient and pro- ing harmony-with-nature narrative. As apanies to greenhouse horticulture and ductive agricultural regions in the world.result, it is rarely celebrated as a sustaina- arable farming, needs to stop trying to earn Enormous amounts of food are producedbility success. approval within a narrative that will never on very little land, with increasingly lowWhat bothers me is that, politi- fully accept them. The classic sustainability inputs per unit of output. From an envi- cally and culturally, this leaves us withstory was not written for them, and it never ronmental perspective, that is incrediblya false dichotomy. In the Netherlandswill be. What is needed is a new narrative, powerful. But because production happenstoday, you are often forced into one ofone in which their strengths are not a lia-in greenhouses and not in a romantic, nat- two camps. Either you fully embrace thebility, but a core part of the solution. 26ISEED WORLD EUROPEISEEDWORLD.COM/EUROPE | FEBRUARY 2026'