Mario Berkers, ZLTO chairman in the Peel region, still has difficulty with the announced nitrogen measures. Still, he hopes that the province and the farmers in the Peel will find each other. “There are other solutions,” he says on Sunday in Omroep Brabant talk show KRAAK.
On Friday, Minister Van der Wal (Nature and Nitrogen) was clear in a press conference: nitrogen emissions must be reduced, especially around nature reserves. That is very bad news for the farmers, because they have to clear fields, especially around a nature reserve such as the Peel.
It was an emotional day, Berkers says. “I was with two other entrepreneurs from the region, because we had an interview with Belgian TV together. Afterwards we also watched the press conference together and we had a really hard time. Especially the other two. They are really in the middle of the region where the blows.”
“We should not downplay the problem.”
Berkers was not pleased with the way the message was delivered by the minister. “That shows little sympathy.” Yet he is not blind to the problem. “No, we should not trivialize that, but it is too short-sighted to leave everything to the farmers,” says Berkers.
According to Berkers, ‘cleaning up the farmers’ may serve another economic purpose. He doubts whether the agricultural land will not be used for housing instead of the return of nature. “I have not heard the word ‘nature’ from the mouth of Mark Rutte.”
“If you don’t mind that yourself, don’t do it to other people.”
For the time being it is unclear whether it will come to that, but Berkers’ statement says a lot about the sentiment: many farmers have lost confidence in The Hague. Some farmers were on Friday evening with tractors on the doorstep of Minister Van der Wal. A very stupid move, according to Berkers.
“We have noticed for ourselves how emotional that can be, if someone just walks in.” He is referring to the actions of environmental organization Meat The Victims in Boxtel in 2019. A pigsty was then occupied by Meat The Victims. “If you don’t mind that yourself, don’t do it to other people.”
The question is: what next? If it is up to The Hague, the solution is clear: farmers must be bought out. It is now up to the province to determine where. Discussions are underway with the sector in the region. Berkers is not necessarily hopeful about the outcome. According to him, the shutters at the province will be closed immediately if the farmers come up with concrete solutions.
“But there are other solutions. Farmers can switch. We believe in that. We think that we as parties can eventually find each other,” concludes Berkers.
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