Farmers gathered at the home of Minister Christianne van der Wal (Nature and Nitrogen, VVD) on Friday evening to protest against the cabinet’s nitrogen policy presented earlier in the day. A spokesperson for the ministry confirms this NRC†
The action group Voll Gas says it is responsible for the action and has distributed a statement about it, according to the ANP news agency. “If she cobbles together a letter with measures that are the death knell for an entire sector, then we want to make some time for that. She doesn’t belong there. And she will know that too.”
Also read: Nitrogen reduction means a radical redesign of farmland
According to reporter Rik Kaptein of Omroep Gelderland, the minister is in conversation with the farmers present at her house and it remains “cosy” for the time being.
Farmers’ association LTO disapproves of the action at the minister’s house. “I understand the anger, but they should not do this,” LTO chairman Sjaak van der Tak told ANP news agency. “Farmers should not take any actions in the private sphere.”
Demonstrators have also gathered elsewhere in the country. For example, dozens of tractors left from the Overijssel town of Bathmen and from Hoogeveen†
On Friday, Van der Wal, together with Minister Henk Staghouwer of Agriculture (ChristenUnie), presented the long-awaited plans for reducing nitrogen emissions, which are very far-reaching for many farmers.