The fierce debate taking place in Drenthe about pesticides could be a harbinger of how this will soon take place in the rest of the Netherlands. State Secretary Silvio Erkens (VVD) pointed this out this afternoon during a working visit to a lily grower in Beilen. He wants to make ‘good agreements’ so that the use of certain pesticides will decrease in the coming years.
State Secretary Erkens of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security and Nature (LVVN) took a look in Beilen this morning to see how the sector is already trying to become more sustainable, for example via a field robot that makes weeds disappear with a laser.
In Drenthe, the discussion about the use of pesticides, especially in lily cultivation, is conducted through lawsuits and enforcement requests. These are usually initiated or submitted by the citizens’ initiative Meten=Weten, whether or not in collaboration with concerned local residents.
The province of Drenthe and the municipalities of Westerveld and Noordenveld already have a lot of experience with this. Meten=Weten believes that citizens and nature should be protected by banning the use of substances. They fear damage to nature or have concerns about their health.
Farmers indicated to Erkens this morning that they are very bothered by the polarized discussion. This is expressed, for example, in raised middle fingers towards growers. They increasingly feel that they are being wrongly portrayed as criminals.
“In Drenthe, the discussion is actually a lot more polarized than in other places in the Netherlands,” said Erkens, while he was sitting around the table with all the parties involved. “How things are going here could be a picture of the future for the rest of the Netherlands if we do not have good agreements in the coming years to reduce the use of crop protection products.”
Erkens tries to take advantage of all the experiences that have already been gained in Drenthe. “Drenthe is a forerunner, not in a positive sense. But the lessons you can learn from this are relevant for policy that the ministry will make.”
That policy must take shape in the short term. In about a month, before the summer recess, LVVN wants to present an ‘in broad outline’ agreement. This contains agreements on how to reduce pesticides in the coming years.
Erkens: “That is very important. The growers are asking for clarity. We want to make it clear how we will help take steps through innovation and faster admission of sustainable substances. The hope is that we can provide certainty to entrepreneurs.”
Erkens also hopes that the agreement will reduce polarization on this subject.
The State Secretary also wants to get rid of the so-called ‘postal code policy’. This means that different rules apply to growers in every municipality. For example, in the municipality of Westerveld, a majority of the council agreed in February to a distance of 50 meters between plots with floriculture and so-called sensitive functions such as homes and schools.
Each municipality called Erkens ‘undesirable’. “I understand the municipalities, because there are no national rules. The government still has to take control. There is a feeling of arbitrariness among growers and it is difficult to allay the concerns of local residents if you cannot explain why there are differences between municipalities. That is why we are trying to arrive at uniform rules.”
He therefore has the message for parties that are trying to reach a coalition agreement in municipalities to wait for the government. “To prevent adjustments having to be made again in six months’ time.”
Erkens has asked former Christian Union leader Gert-Jan Segers to supervise the process towards the covenant as independent chairman. Segers was also in Beilen today, as were deputy Henk Emmens (BBB) and alderman Frank Foreman (VVD) of the municipality of Westerveld.