Food safety first
Damage to farmers compensated after Esso fire
Agricultural entrepreneurs affected by the fire at Esso can count on compensation for their products. More than 100 farmers were updated on the state of affairs on Monday evening, August 28. LTO Nederland, together with Esso, is working on an inventory of the number of affected farmers and plots.
Monday, August 21, a raged at Esso in the Botlek area chimney fire† As a result, soot particles ended up in parts of the municipality of Nissewaard (South Holland). Arable farmers, dairy farmers and fruit growers have been affected by this. Soot particles have ended up on their crops.
On Friday evening, August 25, RIVM announced that the risks are 'negligibly small'. No harmful substances such as PAHs were found in the soot particles. However, it is advised to keep dairy cattle indoors where possible. The advice also applies not to deliver products. To compensate companies, Esso has promised compensation.
Does rain bring relief?
A heavy rain shower should wash away the soot particles. According to the RIVM, the dangers have then passed. The affected farmers disagree. How much should it rain and what happens to the soot particles in the ground? In addition, 100% of the soot will never wash away. No details were given at the information meeting on Monday evening. Today, August 29, or tomorrow, August 30, will hopefully become more clear. Consultations are being held with various knowledge institutes for this.
Food safety first
The agricultural entrepreneurs have food safety as their number one priority. ExxonMobil, Esso's parent company, also subscribes to this vision. That is the main outcome of the meeting. The company is willing to pay compensation. This decision has many feet in the ground.
For starters, the growers would rather sell their product than have it destroyed, but only if the products are completely reliable. There is too much at stake to be careless about this. "Dutch exports must not be adversely affected. Self-interest then suddenly becomes very small," emphasizes local LTO chairman Jan Varekamp. "In addition, we are not talking about the entire island of Voorne-Putten, but only parts of the municipality of Nissewaard. The entrepreneurs elsewhere on the island, where nothing is wrong, should not be disadvantaged."
Tricky puzzle
"The next step is to frame the exact area and map out the damage," explains Varekamp. "Not only for arable farming, but also for dairy farming. They have incurred extra costs by keeping the cows in the barn and what do soot particles mean for the feed?"
Unsaleable product has far-reaching consequences for the affected farmers. "I can't just plow my onions under. They have to be destroyed at a waste processor," explains arable farmer Arie-Pieter Noordermeer on behalf of LTO at RTV Rijnmond† "The real costs, any additional costs of destruction and whether no other solutions are possible must be considered."
Guessing the number of affected companies
LTO cannot yet say exactly how many entrepreneurs were affected by the fire. "110 people were present at the closed meeting, but often with 2 or more people per company", says Varekamp. "We do know that there are 15 dairy farms involved."
According to CBS figures, the municipality of Nissewaard had 2016 hectares of agricultural land in 4.475. Cut maize is grown on 243 hectares. The area of grassland is 1.726 hectares. In addition, there are approximately 300 hectares of sugar beet, 200 hectares of onions and 80 hectares of Brussels sprouts.
Niels van der Boom
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