A crisis committee must bring the cabinet and livestock farming back to the table to prevent farmers’ protests against the nitrogen plans from escalating further. Cees Veerman, former CDA Minister of Agriculture between 2003 and 2007, makes this appeal to Prime Minister Mark Rutte. ‘The plans are really not off the table, but both parties have to talk to each other. Or do we sometimes wait for the military to intervene? Nobody wants that.’
Veerman (73) sees a stalemate developing, in which the points of view only seem to harden. ‘D66 only drums on ‘a deal is a deal’. At the same time, we will have to bring the radicalized peasants to reason. It is crazy for words that ministers are harassed and MPs do not dare to leave their homes. With these outrageous actions, rebellious farmers lose the support of the citizen, which does not benefit the well-meaning farmers. Empathy is half the message.’
‘Everyone knows it can’t go on like this’
Of course, nitrogen reduction must be given the highest priority, Veerman acknowledges. “Everyone knows it can’t go on like this. The question is how do you solve it. Now the farmers have been given a card with objectives and deadlines, while they have been in uncertainty for years. They don’t know what is happening to their companies, the banks are on their backs and the whole world seems to be turning against them. And then you, as a farmer, are milking those cows in your barn at half past four in the morning. Without perspective.’
Nevertheless, a committee of good offices should not take the nitrogen targets for 2030 with a drastic reduction as a benchmark, says Veerman. ‘Nitrogen is the canary in the mine, behind that issue lie problems such as climate change and particulate matter. If we only focus on nitrogen, we forget the enormous tasks that come with it.’
Under the leadership of a committee, farmers and the cabinet should look further than just nitrogen, Veerman argues. ‘Avoid killing biodiversity. Do not take the ultimate goal in 2030 as a starting point, but turn it around and say: how do we start tomorrow? Go practice first! Designate three or four nature reserves to see how we are going to reduce nitrogen. Also involve citizens. Make an inventory, open a consultation office. Which farmers want to continue? Ten farmers stop every day and this trend has been visible for years.’
Veerman fears that extreme parties will win the state elections
According to Veerman, the cabinet has wrongly put the implementation of the nitrogen policy on the responsibility of the provinces. ‘The provinces are just pulling their hands off it. The provincial elections are next year, which member of the provincial council is now saying out loud that he is going to halve livestock farming in his province? He says: the minister can talk nicely, but I have to use the butcher’s knife.’
Veerman also fears that extreme parties will win state elections if policy remains unchanged. ‘Look at the polls: the VVD, the CDA and D66 are almost halved. It radicalizes on both sides. The stabilizing and gluing center is split. Just look at forming stable colleges that will implement the government’s nitrogen policy. Nothing will happen in the coming years in such a highly fragmented landscape.’
However, the visions of the cabinet and the farmers seem to be cast in concrete, says Veerman. ‘The government looks at set targets and some farmers say: over my dead body. That can’t go well. The dialogue should resume. We must achieve the goals for 2030, period. So get started! There is a multi-billion dollar fund, money is no longer the problem.’
Prime Minister Rutte must now bring about reconciliation by forming an independent crisis committee, Veerman says. ‘I am convinced that a large majority of farmers want to sit down with the cabinet. The reasonable part realizes there is no alternative.’