The new council in Midden-Drenthe is critical of the nitrogen plans from The Hague. According to the government, a large part of the nitrogen surplus in the Netherlands must be compensated by farmers. They do not see that happening from the town hall in Beilen.
“You can ask quite a lot from our farmers, but you still have to give them the light in the eyes,” says party leader Rudie Weima of GroenLinks. “The goals are good, but I have a lot of trouble with the way.”
Weima’s party is the smallest faction in the new council. In addition to the PvdA, the CDA and Municipal Interests BBBondgenoot (BBB). “During our negotiations, agriculture was the first point where we looked closely at each other,” explains Jannes Kerssies of Municipal Interests BBB.
Weima: “The supporters of the BBB often think that GroenLinks is against the farmers. That is not the case, we want to work with the farmers towards a healthy future. So we first had to remove that prejudice.”
Both are clear about nitrogen: “These measures will not work and will not last,” says Kerssies. “You have to arrange it in an orderly manner and we will stand by our farmers at all times.”
Weima is surprised about The Hague: “What the national government is now bringing to the farmers is of course very drastic. From GroenLinks we understand that nitrogen must be reduced, but you cannot just push that down the farmers’ throats. We know those people, we know how hard they work and they are usually of good will, but they have to be allowed to express that good will.”
Alderman Jan Schipper (CDA) will soon be at the helm for the elaboration of the plans in the municipality of Midden-Drenthe. Like other party members, he calls the current proposals ‘not good’. According to him, the sector has made adjustments to innovation in recent years.
The last coalition party, the PvdA, is less clear about the plans. “It will soon be up to provincial politics,” says alderman Dennis Bouwman, who is also on the board on behalf of GroenLinks. “But we know the farmers and nature. Our job is to connect the different interests.”