Deputy Jisse Otter (BBB) must talk to a lily grower to agree on a spray-free zone for crop protection products for a field in Diever. That is what D66 wants in the Provincial Council. The farmer wants to grow lilies in the field 40 meters away from a primary school, a playgroup and a schoolyard.
Commissioner Otter of Agriculture would like to discuss such a spray-free zone with the grower, but only on a voluntary basis. Moreover, Otter first wants to know whether the grower is already discussing a possible spray-free zone with local residents.
“We have seen in the past how those kinds of conversations go, so I ask you to talk to the grower,” says D66 faction leader Anry Kleine Deters. “To prevent another lawsuit between grower and local residents.”
Last year, residents of Boterveen near Dwingeloo and a lily grower were before the judge. It immediately banned the use of all pesticides. On appeal, the court ruled that the grower could continue to use four crop protection products. There was also a lawsuit between the province and the action group Meten = Weten about lily cultivation near Natura 2000 areas.
Measuring = Knowing is now concerned about the very short distance between the field and the public primary school De Singelier in Diever.
Henk Baptist van Meten = Weten: “It is less than 40 meters away from the schoolyard, the playgroup, the primary school with 132 students, the after-school care and the two sports fields. At 80 meters there is a secondary school with 212 students, a library, a sports hall and a village hall. Moreover, 30 meters from the cultivation there is a residential area where pregnant women and very young children undoubtedly live,” he writes to the lily grower.
Measuring = Knowing, the grower wants to know how he wants to grow lilies without polluting the environment with agricultural poisons. According to Baptist, “according to the new Environmental Act, the grower must take measures for an ‘environmentally harmful activity’ to prevent consequences and, if this is not possible, to limit or undo those consequences as much as possible. The use of pesticides within a short distance of homes and a school which have been shown to spread through the air, is such an environmentally harmful activity with adverse consequences,” Meten = Weten writes to the grower.
The lily grower has sent a letter to residents of the field on Molenweg in Diever stating that he wants to grow lilies in the field in the coming year or years to come. He writes to local residents “that he wants to be transparent about what we do as neighbors.” Residents can call with questions or visit the lily grower.
The grower tells RTV Drenthe that he is “always prepared to enter into discussions. I have not yet spoken to any residents who have difficulty with me growing lilies there. It is not entirely certain yet, I still have my construction plan.” not completely ready and I also have corn and wheat that still need a place. But I do prefer to grow lilies there.”
About why he wants to grow there, he says: “I am not tied to that plot, but we also lease plots through Prolander from the province, but we are not allowed to grow bulbs there. If the province cooperates, we could better meet the wishes of local residents. .”
The grower thinks it is a shame that D66 or Measuring = Knowing does not first approach him for a discussion. He has either not yet received the letter from Measuring = Knowing or has not yet been able to read it.
According to him, many people have a lack of clarity and an incorrect image about the use of crop protection products. “People still think that the sprayer is always full of just poison, but that is not the case. We use a lot of water and mineral oils for crop protection. And lilies can have much less active substance than other food crops, so that means very precise and targeted spraying at the right time.”
The grower is also a participant in the Sustainable Bulb Cultivation Drenthe trial. This is research into ‘greener’ cultivation with fewer harmful substances, less frequent use of existing crop protection products and also organic cultivation. It is unclear whether he wants ‘conventional’ cultivation in the field near Diever or whether he also wants to try out something sustainable. “The plots for the remainder of the trial this year have not yet been distributed.”
Part of the Sustainable Bulb Growing Drenthe trial came to an abrupt halt in Boterveen last year due to the court’s spraying ban. RTV Drenthe will soon have a story about what the trial has yielded so far.