Flevoland and farmers diametrically opposed to each other

The province of Flevoland does not want to withdraw the provincial nitrogen policy. Flevoland farmers therefore did not want to leave the provincial government in Lelystad. They were supported by Thierry Baudet, leader of the Forum of Democracy. Ultimately, at the request of LTO Noord, the farmers returned home without success.

Harold Hofstra, deputy of the Flevoland for agricultural policy and nature development, did not want to withdraw the policy rules, despite the pleas of the FAJK and LTO Noord. The provinces of Overijssel, Gelderland and Drenthe have withdrawn the provincial policy. The Flevoland farmers demand the same, but the deputy did not go with them.

Commissioner does not admit
Hofstra stated that the rules for the provincial nitrogen policy, which came over the national policy on 8 October, will not be changed. According to him, new policy is not an option, because it will bring everything to a standstill. "We do not intend to impose stricter rules on top of government policy."

Farmers from the hall, however, did not agree. "Good research must first be done before new policy is introduced. Otherwise the policy is not based on anything." A farmer also stated that the province does say that discussions are taking place with the farmers, but that the policy rules have been formulated without consultation.

Farmers threaten to stay
The farmers did not threaten to leave the hall until provincial policy was repealed. When the deputy Hofstra refused to give in, the hall filled up more and more. Jan Cees Vogelaar, the chairman of the Mesdag Fund, addressed the farmers. "What the province is doing is neglecting companies that are located near nature reserves. Who is going to buy such a company now? The only buyer is the government. That is market manipulation," says Vogelaar.

Tension increased when Baudet also appeared. Despite the attempts of Arnold Michielsen, the chairman of LTO Noord Flevoland, to calm things down, Deputy Hofstra left the room. The leader of Forum for Democracy indicated that he wants to do everything in The Hague to relax the rules for farmers. "The calculation model of the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) seems to be as leaky as a basket. We have submitted a motion to immediately switch to the German model. The rules there are on average 140 times lighter than in the Netherlands. "
 

Anne-Jan Doorn

Anne Jan Doorn is an arable expert at Boerenbusiness. He writes about the various arable farming markets and also focuses on the land and energy market.

aj.doorn@boerenbusiness. Nl

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