Dutch buckwheat
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Back with a vengeance: home-grown buckwheat
Until about 200 years ago, buckwheat was part of the Dutch menu and buckwheat was grown on a large scale in our country. But over time, buckwheat faded into the background. In recent years, however, buckwheat has been back in the spotlight. It is a particularly nutritious crop that fits very well into a modern, healthy lifestyle.
Almost all (organic) buckwheat is imported, mainly from China. But a fantastic Dutch initiative has been started for the cultivation of buckwheat in the Netherlands, starting in Drenthe and Westerwolde (Groningen). A group of 25 arable farmers work together on the cultivation, processing and marketing of organic buckwheat. The cultivation is partly done on land that is leased from the Forestry Commission or Natuurmonumenten. Modern varieties are used and research is carried out to determine which varieties give the best results in terms of yield, quality and contribution to biodiversity. The first findings are very encouraging, especially when it comes to the number and different types of pollinators: the butterflies, wild and honey bees and hoverflies are teeming on the buckwheat plots. Would you like to know more about this? Westerwolds ESsenpad - Research bees and buckwheat - YouTube
To make it interesting for farmers to grow organic buckwheat, it is of course a condition that there is sufficient sales for the product and that the price remains at a stable good level. We therefore wholeheartedly support this project and have decided to switch completely to organic buckwheat from our own soil. We hope that you will also embrace this initiative.