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When the invitation to visit me in the Netherlands was made about a month ago, I quickly agreed. The proposal was that I join more than a hundred other journalists from around the world to travel around the country and discover how farming is done and compare the notes with the house.
As a journalist who does not particularly cover agriculture, I did not know what to expect but I was curious. After all, few women journalists cover this particular area.
The flight to Amsterdam was generally pleasant, except for the really hot bread that served us for dinner. I am not a fan of bread so I was disappointed but I think it is their brazen way of getting ready for what awaits you.
The first and main venue of the congress was at the University of Wageningen, a hundred-year-old university that trains Specialists (BSc, MSc and PhD) and is considered world-clbad in the field of life sciences, science and technology. Agriculture and the environment.
According to the Times Higher Education World University Rankings it is the best university in the Netherlands and the best in agriculture and forestry according to the rankings of the QS World University Rankings 2017. The university has about 12,000 students from more than 100 countries.
We did several country tours where we saw how farmers used technology to run their businesses, some of which had worked in their families for centuries, but that's a story. for another day
Friendly Dutch
There is something great about going to a place you do not know with an open mind. I will not pretend to be a frequent flyer, but I have had the opportunity to travel to certain parts of Europe and the United States and I have often wondered if it was a lack of interest to the rest of the world or total ignorance of current affairs. not only ignore the existence of African countries except South Africa and very rarely Zimbabwe and Ghana, but also do not know the continent on which they fall.
I was in Germany in June last year but I did not feel all the heat of the Germans during the week when I was in their country, but the heat of the Dutch was hard to ignore. They are really interested in you, from where you come from and what it is like at home. I was very surprised and found it particularly refreshing to discover that a number of Dutch people I met in the cities and even in the fields of the rest of the country had heard about of Rwanda beyond the usual history of genocide against Tutsis.
Food
The Dutch love bread as Italians love spaghetti. That's the best way to say it. I do not think I have ever seen so much bread in a week like the Netherlands. We tried sandwiches, we tried burgers, we tried brown bread, white, croissants, fermented, sweet, hard, and I think that no matter what in the bread family started to me Feeling like a roll of bread
I was puffed up and I started to crave Irish potatoes. I had "symptoms of weaning food in Africa" but if I thought I was alone, my fellow African journalists at the congress, especially Nigerians, could not help but exclaim that most Europeans needed some rice. Interestingly though, the bread is really sweet, usually hot, fresh and really delicious.
Agricultural Experts
Nearly twenty years ago, the Dutch engaged nationally in favor of sustainable agriculture. Since 2000, most farmers in the Netherlands have almost completely eliminated the use of chemical pesticides on plants in greenhouses, and since 2009, Dutch poultry and livestock breeders have reduced their consumption. The Netherlands is a small, densely populated country, but it is the world's second largest food exporter, measured in value after the United States, 270 times its size.
Cycling
The Dutch love their bicycles. No matter the young or the old, cycling is their preferred mode of transportation. I was entertained by the sight of young mothers who were cycling in small towns with children tied to smaller bikes for children, students with school bags going or leaving the school. school, or men and women in business suit. their office
Green Spaces
The Dutch are big on the environment which partly explains their love for bikes rather than cars. It was refreshing to find a bench near the road, a park within walking distance where one can sit, read a book and relax and enjoy the fresh air.
Humor
One of the things that made me love the Dutch was that they were surprisingly funny. There is no farmer, no bus driver, and no waiter I met and who was not afraid to throw a joke on my side. I have never been interested in living in Europe but if I had to choose, I would definitely choose the Netherlands. Nothing beats being surrounded by people who are not tense.
No Black Faces
I openly asked about the scarcity of black faces in the cities we went to. Most Dutch people said that most blacks preferred the hustle and bustle of Rotterdam and Amsterdam and would never be interested in venturing further.
Most of our trips seemed to be a curiosity for blacks and a very interesting man told me that it was not unusual to spend years without seeing a black person in their neighborhood.
Strawberry farm
I had said that I would talk about farming another day but I can not finish this piece without talking about going to a farm of modern strawberries. I've never been hypnotized by so many strawberries and, oddly enough, the owners of this farm run a store where they offer food and drinks and where everything is connected to a strawberry. I've heard of giant confectionery stores, but give me a ripe strawberry farm anytime.
Would I go back to the Netherlands? Absolutely.
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