Analysis Nitrogen file
Agriculture Collective has to glue up fragments
Now that the negotiations in the nitrogen dossier are slowly reaching their peak, things are rumbling within the Agricultural Collective. Disagreements about the course to be followed between LTO Nederland and Farmers Defense Force are shared publicly. Debris that needs to be glued up quickly.
Prime Minister Mark Rutte and Agriculture Minister Carola Schouten have undoubtedly been surprised in recent days at the messages that came out about the discussions within the Agricultural Collective. Next Wednesday, February 5, the ministers will meet again with a delegation from the monster association of 13 farmers' organisations. But if we are to believe all the stories, Rutte and Schouten could almost have found another way to spend that part of the day.
increase voltage
Tension had been heightened considerably just before this meeting, especially by Farmers Defense Force (FDF). The aim of the Agricultural Collective was to reach definitive agreements with the cabinet on Wednesday about the contribution of agriculture to nitrogen reduction. This is in line with the discussions that the collective had on December 16, 2019 in the Catshuis with Rutte and Schouten. To put pressure on the kettle, FDF had announced a large-scale tractor campaign in The Hague before 5 February and has now mobilized its followers for this.
But then the Mesdag Dairy Fund announced that it would come up with its own calculations of the nitrogen data from RIVM on 20 February. The organization received these data from the RIVM at the beginning of the year after lengthy legal discussions. And although the organization itself has indicated that it will not make any announcements about the progress of the analyzes in the meantime, it has already trickled through to the Agricultural Collective that the Mesdag Dairy Fund comes with completely different conclusions than the RIVM.
Waiting with appointments
Reason for the Agricultural Collective to wait until after 20 February to make concrete nitrogen agreements with the cabinet. But what to do with the meeting of 5 February with Rutte and Schouten? And the big tractor action of FDF? "Both are cancelled," FDF reported on Thursday evening, January 30, in a press release that was quickly withdrawn again. This message was accidentally sent when the Agricultural Collective was meeting on 5 February. The effect of this incident on the atmosphere in the remainder of the meeting can be imagined.
A day later, on Friday morning, FDF reports in a short statement that only the tractor action will not take place. Mark van den Oever, chairman of FDF, says late on Friday evening in a personal press release that he is disappointed in LTO. According to him, LTO has blocked the agreement within the collective that FDF will cancel the trigger action in exchange for canceling the consultation on 5 February. LTO Nederland, in turn, reported on Saturday in a statement on its website that the Agricultural Collective's line is and was to continue to talk with Rutte and Schouten. "It would have been better to personally share dissatisfaction with each other, not via the app group and the media," the organization reports.
Sources within the Agricultural Collective say in a response that LTO Nederland cannot be blamed for the commotion that has arisen. All parties support the current course and LTO's stance is described as 'particularly constructive'. The continuous unrest caused by the combination of FDF and the Dutch Dairymen Board is considered energy-consuming. This is striking on the one hand, because FDF has taken the initiative to form the Agricultural Collective. On the other hand, Van den Oever has set the bar high in the communication to his supporters in reaching a good nitrogen agreement.
Preventing loss of face
There is no doubt that FDF, LTO and the other parties have to get on with each other within the Agricultural Collective. The interests in the nitrogen dossier are too great for that. It is up to Aalt Dijkhuizen, chairman of the Agricultural Collective, to close the ranks. And, in particular, prevent loss of face towards the cabinet. The Agricultural Collective now wants to put the bottlenecks in the licensing of individual agricultural companies at the top of the agenda for 5 February. For example, some of them are now being thwarted with lawsuits by the Mobilization for the Environment (MOB).
According to the social media groups, the collective wants to avoid being accused of not wanting to talk or negotiate with the cabinet. Today (Monday) the collective will definitively determine the agenda for Wednesday. Whether Schouten and Rutte in particular find this important enough to reserve time for it - now that no decisions are being made - and whether they also want to wait a little less than 3 weeks, remains to be seen.
Eric the Thrush
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