'Rutte and Schouten big absentees at protest'

Prime Minister Rutte and Minister Schouten are the big absentees at this farmers' protest. They don't even dare to look the people they represent in the eye. That is what Mark den Oever, chairman of the Farmers Defense Force, said on Wednesday at the farmers' protest in The Hague.

The minister and prime minister were challenged to come after all. If they didn't come before 15 p.m., Van den Oever had even tougher actions in reserve for today. "Then we will accelerate and give it gas." Whether this will actually happen is the question. Many farmers have already left despite his appeal. 

MPs who did show themselves include CDA members Jaco Geurts and Maurits von Martels. Geurts stated that the cabinet should look seriously at the plans of the Agricultural Collective. Nevertheless, the CDA members did not receive a very warm welcome. FDF called on them not to come with words, but with deeds.

Pull the plug from the cabinet
"The CDA must pull the plug from the cabinet if the nitrogen policy does not improve," said Van den Oever. "You should not only say that the CDA is for the farmers, but also show it." He called on the public to vote for the CDA if they drop the cabinet and to resign if they don't.

"Today's protest is mainly aimed at tomorrow's nitrogen debate," said FDF spokesman Jeroen van Maanen. "Tomorrow will be the day of truth. Then it will become clear whether there are really actions from politics or whether it remains a matter of endless talk."

Emotional call
There was also an emotional appeal from arable farming. Arable farmer Kees Hanse addressed the concerns: "We are dealing with unworkable requirements for potato storage and beet cultivation," says Hanse. He got emotional when he yelled, "Schouten, come explain to my son when our business that has been in the family for generations is being destroyed!"

Besides CDA MPs, the two Forum for Democracy (FVD) leaders were also represented at the protest. "It is scandalous that the Dutch agricultural sector is being squeezed because of a paper problem," said Thierry Baudet. "Certainly if we see that last week it was decided to make it easier for products with fewer requirements to be placed on the Dutch market." Theo Hiddema stated that politics is only about doing one thing: "They care about your land, they want to take it from you. It doesn't matter whether it goes left or right." 

Anne-Jan Doorn

Anne Jan Doorn is an arable expert at Boerenbusiness. He writes about the various arable farming markets and also focuses on the land and energy market.

aj.doorn@boerenbusiness. Nl

© DCA Market Intelligence. This market information is subject to copyright. It is not permitted to reproduce, distribute, disseminate or make the content available to third parties for compensation, in any form, without the express written permission of DCA Market Intelligence.