New nitrogen scheme to buy out farmers seems to be counterproductive

The minister offers farmers who want to quit a fat sausage, but do they also bite? Not until now.

The new scheme, which is “wildly attractive” according to Minister of Nature and Nitrogen Christianne van der Wal (VVD), compensates farmers who quit more generously, but also has the opposite effect: farmers who have already considered quitting via a provincial buy-out scheme, decide now to wait, because they are afraid of missing out on money.

“early bird”, said Minister of Nature and Nitrogen Christianne van der Wal (VVD) farmers who want to stop quickly in a policy letter of more than twenty sides that she sent to the House of Representatives last Friday. On Thursday evening, Van der Wal will speak with the House of Representatives about her letter and explain the agricultural policy for the coming years. With extra money she hopes to persuade farmers to stop or relocate their farms. How much extra is not yet known, according to Van der Wal, that is still being investigated.

Also read this interview with Minister Van der Wal: Minister Van der Wal about nitrogen problem: ‘Soon we will no longer be able to drink clean water from the tap’

One of the last trumps

It is one of the last trump cards that Van der Wal has in his hands to solve the nitrogen problems without coercion. In May 2019, the Council of State ruled that the Netherlands has done too little for years to reduce nitrogen emissions. Nature suffers and deteriorates, and that is not allowed. Thousands of construction projects have been halted.

By buying out farmers on a voluntary basis or by moving their farms, the minister hopes to avoid coercion. If this plan fails, expropriation may follow. This is a measure that the minister prefers not to use, because it is far-reaching and time-consuming (an expropriation often takes years) and also creates a lot of resistance among farmers.

But the early birds scheme, the financial details of which are still unknown, backfired. It affects a provincial purchase scheme, which started in November 2020 and is financed by the government, for farmers who emit a lot of nitrogen and who are close to vulnerable nature areas. In Drenthe, Overijssel and Limburg, deputies notice that farmers with whom they have been in talks for some time because they want to stop are suddenly withdrawing after Van der Wal’s letter. These are farmers who emit a lot of nitrogen (‘peak loaders’).

Since the letter was published, “ten to fifteen farmers” have contacted “the province or me personally,” says Gert Harm ten Bolscher (SGP), deputy for agriculture in Overijssel. They doubt whether it is still “that good a deal”, he says, “because something better may be coming”.

In Limburg too, the letter led to ‘uncertainties’ among farmers who were considering making use of the provincial scheme, according to Geert Gabriëls, deputy for nitrogen in Limburg. “Entrepreneurs expect certainty and want to know that there will not be a financially more attractive arrangement at a later date.” The same is true in Drenthe – the province does not have exact numbers. A spokesperson for Minister Van der Wal says that he understands that farmers are waiting a while. “They are entrepreneurs, I would also see which scheme is the most advantageous.”

Even more delay

The problem is: if farmers want to wait a little longer, it leads to even more delays. And that while Minister Van der Wal wants to make haste. The cabinet wants nitrogen emissions in the Netherlands to be halved by 2030, and the provinces must ensure this. In the coming period, it will be determined per province how much less nitrogen it should emit. These goals will become legally binding for the provincial authorities by July 2023 at the latest. If a province does not achieve the target, “I can intervene myself and take over the approach”, Van der Wal said NRC† It has to be, because it has been laid down by law that nature in the Netherlands may not deteriorate.

Van der Wal was criticized for her letter from her own circle. Especially her performance on current affairs program On 1, last Friday night, aroused resentment. Mirjam Nelisse, VVD member of parliament in South Holland and herself a farmer, thinks that Van der Wal paints too negative a picture of farmers. In a video she posted on Twitter, she says that farmers have done a lot to reduce nitrogen emissions over the past thirty years: “but we are still looked at as the biggest polluter”.

The VVD in Drenthe placed an opinion piece on its own website. Willemien Meeuwissen, leader of the VVD Provincial Council of Drenthe, writes that Van der Wal paints too negative a picture of the poor state of nature and exaggerates the role of farmers’ nitrogen emissions in this. These statements are not correct, writes Meeuwissen, “and again damage our farmers”.

ttn-32