Pumping ban is bad news for vegetable growers

Especially those who now grow spinach need water just before harvest. Johan Vanneste from Gits has a mixed farm with animals and crops. There is no panic yet, but the unrest is increasing. Johan Vanneste, farmer: “I have a field of spinach in full growth. On the other side of the hill is the basin of the Handzamevaart and from tomorrow they will no longer be allowed to pump water there. That is not good for the farmer, nor for the factory. The farmer has less yield and the factory has less fresh spinach. What is the solution then? No capping ban is the solution. That is too early.”

Too early for agriculture, but never too late for the Blankaart basin where the water level dropped below 2m56, the lowest level in 5 years. Such a low level is also expected in other areas. The inflation ban is therefore an ecological necessity. For farmers, water is an economic necessity. “Most farmers try to build a large well or a reservoir. The problem is the approval of those wells. And if the well is approved, the biggest problem is: where to go with the earth? It’s a piece of paper. “

The pumping ban will remain in effect until the waterways have been sufficiently restored. More precipitation is therefore a must to avoid even more problems.