Vlaams Belang: ‘Stop aggressive purchase of agricultural land’

Flanders is buying up more and more agricultural land through the Agency for Nature and Forests and Natuurpunt. With subsidies and therefore tax money. A lot of tax money, and that has to stop, says Immanuel De Reuse, Flemish member of parliament for Vlaams Belang from Roeselare.

In Lichtervelde, among others, the Flemish government purchased 30 hectares of adjacent agricultural land via Natuurpunt for afforestation. And that at a price of more than 11 euros per square meter, while the usual prices are between 6 and 8 euros.

“Flanders has auctioned 3.4 million euros in Lichtervelde for extra forest on what is now agricultural land: 113,000 euros were offered through a public sale, while the average price for a hectare of agricultural land in Flanders is 77,000 euros. Young farmers cannot against these exorbitant prices. This must stop,” says De Reuse. “The aggressive purchase policy of the Flemish government, the policy of Minister Zuhal Demir, is causing unrest in agricultural circles. Instead of being an ally of agriculture, the Flemish government is the enemy of our farmers.”

Moorslede agricultural ships: “forest the shoulders of highways”

In Moorslede, too, farmland is regularly bought up for afforestation. The Agency for Nature and Forest has been lurking for years to create a more contiguous area. It probes everywhere to acquire land: when a farmer dies, but it also lays hands on land that is still in use and still being worked by tenants. A dozen agricultural companies are involved in the purchase and view the course of events with regret.

Agricultural alderman Geert Vanthuyne, a farmer himself, is also sounding the alarm: My agricultural heart bleeds when you see what is happening here. We are here with almost 60 hectares that go to the ANB. Valuable soil for growing food, we are close to the REO auction. If you drive along the highway, what afforestation can still happen there. There may still be thousands of acres of land out there waiting for them to plant those lands before taking our valuable farmland.”

Apparently there is not much that can be done against the shopping spree of the Flemish government: “We are powerless. As a municipality, we have tried to negotiate with the VLM to purchase ten hectares of the targeted land. And that as exchange land to create a buffer. to compensate that farmer can comply with the manure action plan. That is not even possible. The ANB has all pre-emption rights,” says Vanthuyne.

West Flanders is only 2.3 percent forested

Our province accounts for about half of all purchased agricultural land: last year it was already 200 hectares, which is four times as much as three years earlier. West Flemish agricultural land for afforestation cost the taxpayer 15 million euros last year. In 2023, 90 percent of the purchasing budget will go to our province. With 2.3 percent of the available area, it has the lowest forestation rate in our country.