Three quarters of Brabant residents are against the Brabant stables policy, which forces farmers to make their stables low-emission earlier than in the rest of the country. In the Debate of the South, Dilan Yesilgöz (VVD) and Rob Jetten (D66) supported their fellow party members in the Brabant coalition. According to them, the stable policy in Brabant is an example for the rest of the country. Caroline van der Plas (BBB) talks about unfair treatment. She thinks it is an example of ‘the unreliable government’.
Stables in Brabant must be low-emission sooner than in the rest of the country to reduce nitrogen emissions. This is an agreement by the Brabant coalition of VVD, GroenLinks, PvdA, SP, D66 and Lokaal Brabant. During the Debate of the South, party leaders Caroline van der Plas (BBB), Dilan Yesilgöz (VVD) and Rob Jetten (D66) were asked for their opinion.
‘Clear choice’
Yesilgöz thinks it is logical to support Brabant policy. “The province has chosen this itself. The province is locked down. We want to be at the forefront. The entire country is looking at the progress in Brabant, an example for the entire country. But we must help the farmers and maintain funds.”
Jetten also understands the province’s choice. “Nitrogen must be tackled in order to be able to build houses and roads. Nature is in bad shape and that is why we must work on sustainable agriculture. Brabant must stick to the clear choice that has been made.”
‘Unfairly treated’
Van der Plas clearly disagrees. “Farmers are treated unfairly. They have always done what they were supposed to do, but it is rejected by the judge. Brabant says: we do it anyway, but research must be done first. This is typical of the unreliable government. The competitive position of farmers is being undermined. This will have a bad economic outcome.”
Van der Plas says to Jetten: “The fact that too few houses are being built is not because of the farmers, but because too few permits are issued.”
Brabant policy
The deadline for pig farmers to install an air scrubber is July 1, 2024. For dairy farmers there is a deadline in 2026. The national deadline for low-emission stables is in 2028. The Brabant coalition is sticking to its own deadline, while it is not yet clear how much the emissions actually decrease. A report from the University of Wageningen showed this summer that the air scrubbers do not do what they promise.
For this reason, the province is no longer issuing permits for the time being, but farmers must already apply for the permit. They will only receive the permit once it has been established that the system actually does what it is supposed to do.
A survey in the run-up to the House of Representatives elections recently showed that three-quarters of Brabanders are against the province’s stricter stable policy. Only one in five Brabanders wants fewer livestock in the area. Only 8 percent of Brabant residents allow their vote to be determined by the nitrogen problem. The research was carried out by Newcom on behalf of Omroep Brabant.
Watch the Debate of the South here: