On Friday, the cabinet will present the regional nitrogen analysis on which policy will be based in the coming years. That will hurt in some areas, nitrogen minister Christianne van der Wal has already acknowledged.
Although the Ministry of Agriculture was still calculating until the last minute, it soon became clear that the message will be “hard” for some farmers. There are areas where nitrogen emissions have to be reduced by 70 to 80 percent in order to give the restoration of vulnerable nature a chance. The implementation of the plans will, moreover, largely lie with the provinces.
The cabinet recognizes that the measures will have a major impact on farmers’ lives and will really hurt in a number of places. But, says Van der Wal, the cabinet must intervene. According to critics, far too little has been done since the Council of State in 2019 abolished the old nitrogen approach, which had been applied since 2015. “This is a bit of the day that we all knew would come one day,” says Van der Wal now.
Cabinet also wants to offer perspective with plans
Van der Wal is happy that she can offer farmers clarity, but the cabinet hopes in its plans about the future of the sector to also offer prospects to farmers who do continue. Financial scope for green farming, for example, and better and firm agreements with supermarkets. Agriculture Minister Henk Staghouwer will explain these plans on Friday.
In the coalition agreement, the cabinet is committed to “circular agriculture with a good revenue model, so that farmers are enabled and socially appreciated to realize the necessary change”.
During a cabinet meeting earlier this week, it became clear that a number of fellow ministers thought that the plans that were being submitted at the time were not yet concrete enough, say those involved. A package that is as detailed as possible for the farmer is important for all parties, but certainly for the CDA with a large farmer support.
To what extent Staghouwer, for example, already comes up with a financial picture with his plans, remains to be seen on Friday. The package is reportedly being tinkered with until the last minute.