Jeroen van Maanen immediately from the board of NMV

Vice-chairman Jeroen van Maanen has stepped down from the board of the Dutch Dairy Farmers' Union (NMV) with immediate effect. In an app that is shared, 2 weeks before the general members' meeting, he sharply criticizes the current board. Outgoing chairman Harm Wiegersma respects his decision, but regrets the way in which Van Maanen has made this known.

Wiegersma will say goodbye at the general members' meeting on 1 September, as a result of which both the NVM will lose both the chairman and the vice-chairman. In his statement, Van Maanen says that the current board "lacks leadership, is internally divided by egos, commits mismanagement and is more busy with an internal legal battle than with advocacy." He also indicates that the executive board - with the exception of Bertus Doppenberg - withheld information from him, so that he "no longer had any influence."

Internal chaos big
Van Maanen indirectly says that as far as he is concerned, the entire board is stepping down. "The NMV made me into someone who I am not and wish to be, passive and impatient. The internal chaos is great, but with good and clear choices, the NMV can be up and running in no time. It starts with cleaning up ." He calls on all members to attend the general members' meeting and to make their voices heard. "Good advocacy starts from the bottom up."

If the members call on him, Van Maanen does not rule out a return. You can read between the lines. "The NMV is needed more than ever and I wish and allow the NMV to rediscover itself. We must continue to fight for the future of our Dutch dairy farming and the formation of a strong collective agricultural bloc. I will continue to fight, in whatever role for farmers' sake!" It is not the first time that Van Maanen has had an altercation with fellow drivers. Last May, a conflict within the top of Farmers Defense Force led to Van Maanen's departure from this movement. 

Communication difficult due to corona
When asked, Harm Wiegersma says that he respects Van Maanen's decision and that he regrets his statements. He does not want to respond substantively to that. "I do that with the members at the members' meeting." He does indicate that good communication with members has proved difficult in the past year with all the corona measures. "That made it difficult to enter into a good conversation with each other. In that regard, the new board must certainly go into the region in the coming period to talk to the members."

The fact is that a few weeks before this meeting, the NMV still does not have a new chairman. The members can appoint or reappoint new directors on 1 September, from which the board itself can choose a chairman. The NMV amended its statutes some time ago, so that an external chairman (not necessarily a practicing dairy farmer) can also be appointed as chairman. That is not yet the case, says Wiegersma.

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