Minister Van der Wal (Nature and Nitrogen) sent the nitrogen targets to the House of Representatives on Friday. These are drastic for farmers. According to these targets, emissions in Noord-Brabant, the Gelderse Vallei and Limburg must be reduced by more than half. In protected natural areas, emissions must even be reduced by at least 95 percent, and in the ring around these areas by 70 percent.
“The minister was willing to have a chat with us,” says Markink with satisfaction. According to the activist farmers of Voll Gass, an organization from Overijssel, the minister would do well to sign the letter of resignation. “She doesn’t belong in this place.” The minister would also have indicated that she felt somewhat intimidated by the unannounced visit to home. “But we also feel intimidated by these cabinet plans,” says Markink.
Action group Farmers Defense Force (FDF) previously said it expected spontaneous actions by farmers against the government’s nitrogen policy. Farmers’ collective Agractie has announced that it will take action with tractors in The Hague on Wednesday 22 June against the cabinet’s approach to the nitrogen problem. Several agricultural organizations will meet next Monday.
A statement from action group Voll Gass states: “We were told that Mrs. Van der Wal quickly got away. So just wait until she comes back. Someone who picks up the ax to chase the farmers over the cliff isn’t really worth waiting for. But if she cobbles together a letter with measures that are the death knell for an entire sector, then we want to make some time for that.”
Criticism
“I understand the anger, but they should not do this,” LTO chairman Sjaak van der Tak responds to the action. “Farmers should not take actions in their personal privacy,” says Van der Tak. “This is not dignified and not appropriate.”
A small group of about five farmers protested during a working visit by Minister Henk Staghouwer (Agriculture) to a farm in Snelrewaard (Utrecht), according to a spokesperson for the minister. When the protesting farmers arrived, the minister had just left.