Kerken en pacht. Een vooronderzoek naar pacht van landbouwgrond in kerkelijk bezit

Protestant Churches in the Netherlands own an estimated 27,000 hectares of agricultural land, which they lease to farmers. These churches have often acquired these lands as bequests from church members. In the donation, the purpose of the proceeds is made explicit: for supporting the poor or for the maintenance of the church. Hence, part of the land is managed by deaconries and another part by church stewards. The proceeds of the lease are spent on diaconal and internal church goals, in accordance with the objective.
Increasingly, the question is being raised whether, in view of ecological developments such as declining biodiversity, environmental pollution and climate change, churches should not make an effort to improve their agricultural land in a managed in a sustainable way? Sustainable refers to various forms of nature-inclusive agriculture. Because little is known about how deacons and church stewards deal with the farmland that they own, it has been decided to conduct exploratory research into this, which should lead to a substantiated recommendation for follow-up research.
The research question is: how do 'green churches' deal with the agricultural land they own, in the light of ecological issues such as declining biodiversity, environmental pollution and climate change? Due to the exploratory character, the sample is limited to churches that are part of the GreenChruches Network (GroeneKerken) ánd presumably owning agricultural land. The 125 colleges of church stewards and 72 deaconries that meet these criteria have been contacted with the request to cooperate with the investigation.
An interview was conducted with 16 deaconries and 8 colleges of church stewards. The survey shows that two-thirds of the respondents have not (yet) thought about whether they find it desirable or necessary that their agricultural land should be cultivated and managed in a sustainable manner. Half of this group is willing to consider this option, but is reluctant because – especially in this day and age – they have the tenants do not want to get in the way. The other half is of the opinion that it is not up to the churches to create a certain types of farming: it makes no sense, because the long-term contracts do not allow for the for bidding; It also has too little impact. For example, much more can be achieved with government measures.
A quarter of the respondents – exclusively diaconates – are on the threshold of policy-making. They substantiate this with the responsibility they bear as stewards for God's creation. Two boards of church stewards and one deaconry have made their policy with regard to the sustainable use of the land concrete and are already putting this into practice. These 'good practices' differ greatly from each other. In particular, the local circumstances of the church appear to have a major influence on the way in which good practice is shaped.
Precisely because of the local differences, the recommendation is to set up the follow-up research as action research in regional learning communities. The aim of this follow up research is to work step-by-step with the faith community to develop a well-founded policy for the future of church-owned agricultural land.