News Crop protection
Judge forces farmer to stop spraying
The judge orders a lily grower to immediately stop carrying out chemical crop protection on a plot in Dwingeloo in Drenthe. At the end of May, local residents of the lilies plot filed a lawsuit about this. Despite the fact that the grower took extra steps to ensure that his spraying was carried out safely, a health risk cannot be ruled out, according to the court.
De judgment of the court of appeals is not just a slap in the face to the agricultural entrepreneur. He follows – as his lawyer explained in court – all the requirements that apply to the implementation of crop protection. In addition, the company has already made agreements with the municipality of Westerveld, which includes Dwingeloo, to deal with spraying even more precisely. Last winter, the entrepreneur invested in a four-tonne drift reduction system, but the local residents have no interest in that.
Precedent setting
Agricultural entrepreneurs are afraid that the court ruling could set a precedent for similar situations elsewhere in Drenthe and the Netherlands. Lily growers and people living near plots – especially in the municipality of Westerveld – have been at odds for years about the use of plant protection products on the crop. According to the court, health now weighs more heavily than the economic situation of lily cultivation. The court bases its ruling on research into a link between plant protection products and diseases such as Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and ALS.
It is not the first time that a judiciary has intervened in the use of plant protection products. Three years ago, the Brabant municipality of Gilze en Rijen was reprimanded for applying a glyphosate ban on leased land. That rule first became illegal explained, but another judge eventually ruled that this allowed. In a liberalized lease contract of one to three years, a lessor may now include that certain agents - such as glyphosate - may not be used.
Niels van der Boom
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