Selected Dutch greenhouse ornamental growers can use an optional data-transfer route for Statistics Netherlands’ (CBS) 2026 crop-protection survey instead of entering the same records again in a separate questionnaire. The pilot lets invited businesses authorise CBS to retrieve the required information through their existing MPS cultivation records.
In its 15 October notice, industry association Glastuinbouw Nederland said selected growers were contacted on 13 October about the option. The change concerns how data are supplied for official statistics. It is not a new crop-protection-product approval or a general exemption from reporting.
Consent replaces duplicate entry for eligible growers
The CBS guidance for participating businesses explains that October invitation letters allow growers to choose the connection through a short questionnaire. With the grower’s consent, CBS may collect only the requested information covered by that authorisation from MPS. MPS then handles the transfer and charges the participating business a fee.
Glastuinbouw Nederland says growers whose records are successfully received in full through MPS will not be sent the regular survey in November. Growers who cannot or do not choose this route will instead receive the standard questionnaire. A November survey invitation remains compulsory under CBS rules; the alternative submission method does not remove the underlying duty to provide information.
The arrangement is being tested in 2026 for selected greenhouse ornamental operations. CBS also offers an AgroVision route for certain other growers, but that should not be confused with universal MPS eligibility across horticulture.
Administrative choice, with a service charge
For a greenhouse business already logging its crop-protection activity in MPS, direct transfer could eliminate duplicated manual entry. The decision still has a cost component: CBS explicitly says MPS will invoice for the service. The public guidance does not state a standard amount, so a comparison between the service fee and time saved depends on the individual grower’s arrangements and records.
The statistical office says its questionnaires collect crop-specific information and use the answers to produce aggregated statistical results rather than identify individual businesses. Growers should consult their own invitation to confirm which records CBS requests and whether the transfer option is available to them.
Broader survey timetable is also changing
According to Glastuinbouw Nederland, CBS is reducing some of the information requested and plans to move this crop-protection-use survey from a four-year cycle to an annual one starting in 2028. The association has separately raised concerns that data about beneficial biological organisms would no longer be included in the survey.
For now, the operational decision for invited greenhouse growers is limited: consent to an MPS-to-CBS transfer for the 2026 survey, subject to the provider’s charge, or complete the regular questionnaire when it arrives. The pilot’s uptake and any measured administrative savings have not yet been reported.
