East Flevoland

East Flevoland, the older part of the polder (drained between 1950 and 1957), has an area of some 54,000 hectares/135,000 acres, two-thirds of it belonging to the commune of Dronten and the remaining third to Lelystad. The land was brought into cultivation in the mid 1960s, when some 2,000 farming units were established. At the outset they grew mainly rape, oats and barley; they now also produce wheat, sugar-beet, fruit and vegetables. The east coast, along the Veluwemeer, was planted with trees and is now an attractive recreational area, with parks and boating harbors.