Contribution ChristenUnie-SGP
New Brussels policy good for Dutch farmer
Amendments, tabled by Bas Belder of the ChristenUnie-SGP, takes over Brussels in the new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). This will help Dutch arable farmers on a number of points.
The European Council, the European Parliament and the European Commission reached a political agreement on Thursday 12 October. This was confirmed by the Council on Monday 16 October. This includes improvements for greening, support for young farmers and market power.
Bas Belder, Member of Parliament for ChristenUnie-SGP, calls the agreement good news for Dutch farmers. His amendments for arable farmers and young entrepreneurs are included in the agreement.
More possibilities in crop diversification
One of the changes is the inclusion of spelled in crop diversification. Even when wheat is already included in the construction plan. Especially arable farmers on heavy clay soils have problems finding 3 suitable crops. Spelled offers an extra option, believes Belder. This problem is especially prevalent in the Groningen Oldambt.
At the request of the European Parliament, there will also be more options for defining the ecological focus area. For example, from 2018 this may also be done with elephant grass, sun crown and honey-rich plants. The weighting factor for nitrogen-fixing crops goes up in the EA.
Support for young farmers
From next year, young farmers can receive a young farmer's premium for the entire 5 years. That is the work of the Dutch government and Belder. "This gives young farmers more leeway to use the extra financial resources," says the politician. In the current situation, young farmers are reduced for the number of years they have been in partnership, but have not applied for a premium.
One industry association
Industry organizations are given more flexibility in their internal organization. Current regulations lead to unnecessary administrative division. That was also a problem at BO Akkerbouw. In the future, 1 organization can be recognized for several sectors. Belder is satisfied. "The arable farming sector will still get 1 branch organization for the entire sector."
Price and volume agreements allowed
In order to give farmers more bargaining power in the chain, from 1 January 2018, producer organizations are also allowed to make agreements about quantities and prices, without this being in conflict with the competition law. With the agreement, the Omnibus Regulation is ready in time to take effect on 1 January. However, for that, other committees must also complete the negotiations on their part.
Niels van der Boom
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