In his role as Director of Food & Agri Netherlands at Rabobank, Alex Datema is responsible for the bank's agri-food vision. On behalf of Rabobank, he participates in various networks within the sector to collaborate with agricultural organizations, provinces, the government, and supply chain partners toward a sustainable future for the industry.
My personal conviction is that both society and farmers benefit from sustainable agriculture. This requires 'sacrifices' from both sides. My mission is to ensure that both sides see that they need each other and therefore grant each other the space to do the right thing.
My personal conviction is that both society and farmers benefit from sustainable agriculture. This requires 'sacrifices' from both sides. My mission is to ensure that both sides see that they need each other and therefore grant each other the space to do the right thing.
Alex
What drives you to collaborate with / be part of the Robin Food Coalition?
Based on our statement 'Growing a better world together,' we are working toward a sustainable food system. In doing so, we have a firm foothold in the entire chain, which brings responsibility. We fulfill this by steering our financing in that direction. The Robin Food Coalition is a valuable partner in this regard, as they are consistently one or two steps ahead of us in thinking about sustainability and systemic change. This makes the Robin Food Coalition very valuable to us.
How do you believe food and agriculture can make a positive contribution to people and nature, and what role do you play in that?
Food is the foundation of human health. That should be much more of a starting point in agricultural policy. If you do that—taking health as the basis for policy—you automatically ensure that agriculture and nature start reinforcing each other again instead of excluding one another. It is also up to us to design our financial instruments in a way that stimulates this, making the shift from "Do no harm" to "Do good."
How can we support you in that role?
It helps us that the Robin Food Coalition knows how to point out the pain points. However, it helps us even more if we can search for the right solutions together and work on implementing them. This requires both thinking big and, at times, acting small.