If the current nitrogen policy is not drastically adjusted, the Agricultural and Horticultural Organization of the Netherlands (LTO) will not sign the agricultural agreement. LTO foreman Sjaak van der Tak warns about this in De Telegraaf on Tuesday.
According to the newspaper, the organization joins the views of the BoerBurgerBeweging (BBB) and demands that the forced expropriation of farmers be abandoned. “That means no mandatory purchase or expropriation, and that also means no instruments imposed from above such as ‘landscape land’ that must be uniformly rolled out throughout the country,” says Van der Tak.
The nitrogen deadline of 2030 should also draw a line, according to the LTO. “LTO consistently adheres to 2035 as described in the current law as the finish line,” said the LTO foreman.
Van der Tak also wants more money to be made available for schemes for the agricultural sector, such as for farmers who want to stop or relocate. “There will have to be a significant plus on the available budget,” he says.
Nevertheless, the agricultural organization says it understands that steps must be taken. “We want to work with the challenges that exist, but in a realistic and humane way for our farmers and horticulturists. Start from what is possible and allowed, instead of always steering from the brakes and limitations. An agricultural agreement aimed at this will gain strength for society as a whole,” Van der Tak told the newspaper.
The LTO is one of the four agricultural organizations that sit at the main table in the talks that should lead to an agricultural agreement.
The idea of concluding such an agreement comes from Johan Remkes. Last year he spoke with farmers, administrators and other stakeholders with the aim of breaking the nitrogen impasse. The agricultural agreement, the result of talks between agriculture and politics, is one of his pieces of advice that should give farmers prospects for the future.
Minister of Agriculture Piet Adema announced yesterday that these talks are becoming ‘substantively sharper’ now that the intended time to conclude them is approaching. The agreement should be reached at the end of March or the beginning of April.