It continues to look for sustainability in Drenthe’s agricultural policy. The Northern Court of Audit concludes this in a retrospective of an earlier study into agricultural policy from 2020.
Of the eight recommendations made to the province of Drenthe at the time, seven have little effect on current policy. According to the Court of Audit, only the recommendation about the information needs of the Provincial Council has actually been implemented.
In the 2020 study, the Northern Court of Audit looked at agricultural policy in Drenthe, in particular at making agriculture more sustainable between 2012 and 2018. Eight recommendations emerged from this. The Court of Audit has examined the extent to which these recommendations have been followed up and has assigned four scores to them: limited effect, limited effect, partial effect and effect.
Of the eight, seven recommendations have little effect. For example, the provincial government, the Provincial Executive, has not yet worked out where it wants to be with sustainable agriculture in the year 2030. There is also still no overview of subsidized projects and the extent to which they contribute to making agriculture more sustainable. As a result, there is no insight into the social effect of these contributions, says the Court of Audit.
The fact that the province has not yet outlined a clear policy is also due to the nitrogen crisis, the Court of Audit writes. Drawing up a Provincial Rural Area Program is a first step in that direction.
In retrospect, the Northern Court of Audit makes additional recommendations. For example, the Provincial Executive is recommended to ‘organize constructive and targeted partnerships that contribute to achieving the objectives for sustainable agriculture’.
The Provincial Executive is also advised to ‘analyze which policy instruments are most suitable for achieving certain sustainability goals in agriculture’, the Court of Audit writes.
The Provincial Executive says it will adopt the new recommendations. The Court of Audit’s analysis of the effect of the eight recommendations from the original investigation is being taken to the provincial government for information. For example, the Provincial Executive says it is working ‘to improve the overview of projects in order to arrive at a complete overview and how we can contribute to knowledge sharing’.
The Court of Audit also conducted the audit for the provinces of Friesland and Groningen. Friesland scores slightly better than Drenthe, while Groningen has the same final score – limited effect – as our province.