Interview John Klink
'Farmers are not uniformity'
Helma Lodders will no longer stand for election for the elections to the House of Representatives in March. As a result, the VVD had to look for a new agricultural spokesperson. He found the match in Jan Klink (35). He is alderman for economic affairs at the municipality of Wijdemeren, number 35 on the list of the VVD and of peasant origin. Who is Jan Klink and what can we expect from him if he is elected?
What about the agricultural sector?
"I was born and raised in Wittewierum, in the middle of Groningen, on a dairy farm with 80 cows. In 1998 we moved to Boven Pekela and started a new company, where until then 5 arable farmers had been farming. Then my father had an accident on the farm, that was on May 13, 2000, the day of the fireworks disaster. I was 15 years old. We made a conscious decision to continue the company. At the end, we had 230 cows, with grazing and sustainable stables. In 2014, the manager passed away suddenly. For the second time we had to deal with a death. It seemed like history was repeating itself. Although the company was completely future-proof and financially healthy, I, together with my mother and 2 younger brothers - with whom I a partnership was - decided: we will stop. The company was sold in 2015."
"I think it helps if you have someone with agricultural roots in the group. In addition to the dairy farm, I also studied agricultural economics in Wageningen and worked at the ministries of LNV and Economic Affairs. I think this background is valuable when determining a position. It should not be the case that there is not someone in the largest party with agricultural roots."
Shouldn't they have put you higher than number 35 on the list?
"You can also say: Mark Harbers, who has done a lot for agriculture, is in seventh place. That is very freely available. I am completely new. It is logical that I first have to prove myself more. I think it is a very honorable and promising place. If you look at the polls, I can get in. I'm very proud of it myself."
The VVD is in the polls at 41 to 45 seats. So you are in an electable place. What do you want to achieve when you enter the House of Representatives?
"You are part of a coalition and dependent on the coalition agreement. What I find important in any case is the pride in the agricultural sector. That has been forgotten in recent years. We have a very strong agricultural sector. for focus on innovation. That is also important for farmers and horticulturists. For example, with regard to the nitrogen problem. You also have to make the resources available for this, collaboration with the government is necessary. We are also always critical of regulatory pressure. New requirements really have to be logical and explainable. If requirements are not updated, they should be dropped."
Was that also your experience, when you still had a dairy farm, that the regulatory burden was great?
"You do lose quite a lot of time with it and working on it. Not everything is for the central government. With construction initiatives you also have to deal with local authorities. You have to be alert every time. Politicians must be aware that if there is new policy is made, which always leads to extra actions."
A hot political issue is the nitrogen problem. Is the Nitrogen Act necessary?
"I think so. We need to do something with the reduction of nitrogen. It is good to now look at how we can do this as smartly as possible. Not to halve the livestock, as some parties say. The goal is to reduce emissions and for that we have to using your knowledge and skills. I strongly believe in the innovation track."
The VVD is fully committed to innovation. What should I think about then?
"The Netherlands will never become an agricultural superpower through production. We can continue to do so by continuing to innovate, both in the vegetable and animal sectors, and by becoming even more global market leader in this. We already have the milking robot, of course. You can also think of organic products. control and saline crops, which they are already working on in the experimental phase in Zeeland and Texel. Much more innovation is also needed for nitrogen. Companies such as FloraHolland, VanDrie, Cosun and FrieslandCampina can play a more prominent role and are active in a large part of the sector. Cooperatives can best give innovations an impulse with the government."
Reducing livestock is not the goal, says the VVD election manifesto. How to ensure that viable farms continue to exist?
"The real problem is those who want to change their business operations. For example, if you want to expand. You used to have that with the milk quota. Those became phosphate rights, and now you also have to look closely at nitrogen. you also have to do something with land, with stables. You have to find that out with your own municipality. It is important that if you want to farm as you have always farmed, that remains broadly possible. If you want more, then action must be taken ."
How do you feel about the peasant protests?
"I think that the first protests certainly showed the solidarity that there is in agriculture. It is also a signal: "We are still here!". Later protests, coming home to people, you do not do that. You shouldn't want that in a country like the Netherlands. We have to talk about the bottlenecks and work towards a solution. A strong agricultural sector simply belongs in the Netherlands."
What role can traditional livestock farmers still play in a future scenario that the VVD outlines in the election program in which we no longer eat animals, but cultured meat?
"I can imagine that people think that this is a threat to pig farmers. But there is an increase in the demand for proteins. Part of this via other proteins is not bad, that offers opportunities. Try there as the Netherlands really being a forerunner in it. If you can do it without a head and ass, what's wrong with that?"
How do you feel about a 'meat tax', a higher, 'fair' meat price to make meat production more sustainable?
"I also worked on that at the Ministry of Economic Affairs. We advised not to introduce it. You cannot say with a dry eye that this affects health. It is demonstrable that lower incomes are being affected by this. I am not in favor of any tax measure on food products, the same goes for the sugar tax."
It is often a barrier to switch to a more sustainable production method. Isn't it desirable to encourage that?
"It's a question of supply and demand. Anyone can develop a product and ask for a price that they find appropriate. It is relatively cheap to get food, that is a sign of prosperity. If you have a certain concept, then you have to make it distinctive. That is a completely different way of doing business. Many farmers are not involved in promotion, that has traditionally been outsourced. When we had a dairy farm, the milk was collected by FrieslandCampina. We were not involved in promotion. We felt good about that, but I can imagine that someone would want to do that themselves. That is a strategic choice. Farmers are not one-size-fits-all, but super diverse."
Linda van Eekeres
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