Strategic Advisory Council for Agriculture and Fisheries

Strategic Advisory Council for Agriculture and Fisheries

About us

What we do

The Strategic Advisory Council for Agriculture and Fisheries (SALV) is a Flemish advisory board advising the regional Flemish government and the Flemish Parliament on agriculture and fisheries. Policy advise may be either at its own initiative or upon request of the Flemish Government, a Flemish minister or the Flemish Parliament. Occasionally, the SALV also delivers recommendations to the national Belgian government.

The council was set up by decree of 6 July 2007 and assigned to the policy domain of agriculture and fisheries (LV). The recommendations, as agreed by stakeholders represented in the SALV, fit into a supported political decision-making: in order to develop and carry out policies, the government requires broad social support. Therefore, in their advisory role, the SALV members’ first aim is consensus. They are convinced that a common view, based on a well-considered consensus, represents an advantage for our society as it clearly indicates if a new policy initiative holds or lacks broad support from the various representative members. The SALV aims for quality, in the form of research-based high level of expertise, combined with a broad basis of agreement and public support. The SALV’s advisory reports are available to the public. The recommendations in these reports are not binding.

The SALV is administratively embedded in the Sociaal-Economische Raad van Vlaanderen (SERV), housed in Brussels, Wetstraat 34-36.

Who we are

The advisory board consists of 20 representatives and their alternates coming from 19 stakeholder organizations concerned with economic, social and environmental performance of the agriculture and horticulture sector:

  • Algemeen Boerensyndicaat
  • Vlaams Agrarisch Centrum
  • Koepelorganisatie voor de biologische landbouw en voeding (Bioforum vzw)
  • Groene Kring
  • KVLV-Agra
  • Vertegenwoordiging van de Visserijsector (Rederscentrale cv)
  • Rikolto
  • Bond Beter Leefmilieu
  • Natuurpunt
  • Fedagrim
  • Belgische mengvoerfabrikanten (BFA
  • Federatie voedingsindustrie (FEVIA Vlaanderen)
  • Unie van Zelfstandige Ondernemers
  • Verbond Belgische Tuinbouwcoöperaties
  • Platform voor Landbouwonderzoek
  • Vertegenwoordiging van het Landbouwonderwijs
  • Boerenbond
  • Belgische Vereniging voor Onderzoek en Expertise voor de Consumentenorganisaties (BV OECO)
  • Phytofar

The Flemish government designates the organizations and appoint their representatives for a period of four years.

Technical Working Committee on Fisheries (TWV)

The Technical Working Committee on Fisheries (TWV) is a formal working committee of the SALV, designated by the Flemish Government. It consists of civil society organizations involved in the fisheries sector. It provides advice to the Flemish Government and the Flemish Parliament on fisheries and broader policies on the North Sea and the marine environment. The chairman of the SALV appoints the chairman and the members of the TWV.

Daily operations and management

The SALV meets about monthly. The opinions are prepared in advance in working committees. The Advisory Board regularly collaborates with other Flemish advisory councils, such as the SERV and the Minaraad.
The members responsible for the daily management of the SALV are elected by the council. The elected candidate for the presidency is then nominated to the Flemish Government, which approves the mandate for four years.
Hendrik Vandamme (Algemeen Boerensyndicaat) is current chairman of the advisory board.
Lode Ceyssens (Boerenbond) is vice-president.