With a lot of honking, about sixty hikers entered the parking lot of the Hoogheemraadschap Hollands Noorderkwartier in Heerhugowaard this morning. They demonstrate against the water board, which states that the agricultural sector plays a large role in water pollution. According to the farmers, this is nonsense, and that is why dairy farmer and protest organizer René Staal handed over a pamphlet.
Not to The Hague or the Afsluitdijk this time, but a farmers’ protest in Heerhugowaard near the water board. The farmers in the region are angry because they believe that they are unfairly accused of being the main cause of the polluted water in our province.
The EU member states have agreed that the ditches and rivers must be clean in a few years, in 2027. The Netherlands is far behind other countries. That is why farmers are imposed more rules to keep the water clean, such as spreading less manure on the land.
Pamphlet
Farmers are seen as major polluters, but according to René Staal, initiator of the protest and dairy farmer from Berkhout, that is not true at all. He therefore prepared a pamphlet explaining that the current rules are onerous for farmers. “We believe that we are right on a lot of points, because it has been well researched. You just have to prove yourself right,” says René Staal.
Staal presented the pamphlet to water council Jos Beemsterboer, who promised to take the time to read the pamphlet. A group of farmers will also soon be invited to discuss this discussion further.