The outgoing ministers Piet Adema (Agriculture) and Christianne van der Wal (Nature & Nitrogen) seem to have never worked as hard as in the past two weeks, even though the former had to stay at home in Friesland with a corona infection. Adema almost gave the impression that, precisely because he was sitting at home and had no time for anything else, he just read and signed a mountain of documents.
With them letter barrage Adema and Van der Wal also drove a series of picket posts for the next cabinet towards the House of Representatives. The question can therefore be asked whether they are not stretching their outgoing mandate too much. MPs of the currently forming combination have their doubts about it. Because, whether it concerns nitrogen, NPLG intentions, nutrient-polluted areas, derogation-free buffer strips or phosphate rights, the outgoing workers do not just look after the shop. Also their policy products, such as the Ecological Authority, continue to sound the alarm about nature based on a predetermined format.
Explosive phosphate row
Things were most intense around phosphate rights. There were discussions about this this week between the agricultural organizations and the ministry, but things broke down during the first conversation. The poultry farmers made it clear that they do not accept a generic discount or a 50% skimming off when trading rights. Foreman Bart-Jan Oplaat states that the poultry farming industry has long provided its own solution with manure processing, incineration and export. If the ministry continues, there will be a lawsuit against the derogation decision, Oplaat threatens. The situation is also similar for pig farmers and veal farmers.
Bres at dairy farm
Adema can get along best with dairy farming, which itself proposed a 20% discount on fees last year. So, there is already a hole in the breach. However, this does make the dairy industry a bit nervous, because the total of measures that are being implemented in dairy farming threatens to hit milk production disproportionately.
Priceless sustainability
Due to his illness, Adema did not have the time to personally travel to Brussels again to argue for the exceptional position for Dutch agriculture again, or to give a final push against the fertilizer replacement file (Renure), as he had done previously. week advocated at the kick-off of the Grüne Woche in Berlin. Considering all the other activities he was involved in last week, you might also wonder how much of this really bothers him. The Adema and Van der Wal policy is one of slowing down, buying up and holding back.
What that leads to is even the NRC became clear. The newspaper saw the conclusions of a study by Wageningen University & Research (WUR), which makes it clear that agriculture cannot afford the sustainability plans of the now fallen cabinet.
NPLG check and views
Yet the rump cabinet (many ministers have already flown) continues. Van der Wal announced this week that she has released more than €1,2 billion for the National Rural Area Plan. Remarkably, she brought BBB representative Maurits von Martels to Overijssel in a jubilant mood. Apparently he had not thought about what he was supposed to do with that money. The Nitrogen Claim Foundation is now preparing a campaign to help farmers submit views against this NPLG. In doing so, she wants to force the ministry to provide substantiation in advance. Nitrogen Claim is working on more issues in the nature area. She is also a party in a lawsuit by Greenpeace against the government. Greenpeace is angry because the government is allegedly not achieving all kinds of nitrogen targets. Nitrogen Claim's participation requires a broader weighing of interests.
Formation of 'stupid' cabinet
The feverishness (not corona-related) of the current LNV ministers is understandable from a certain point of view. The formation process of PVV, NSC, VVD (also including Van der Wal) and BBB continues steadily, although many journalists in The Hague do not seem to notice much of it. For lack of anything better, stories emerge as if, for example, the BBB cannot calculate and therefore cannot think properly and that it will still be a wrong and stupid government.
Kemp, Samson, Huitema
The formation is not yet a complete race, but it can still happen unexpectedly quickly. There is even speculation about the names of ministers. Now that's not necessarily an indicator, but still. That's how rumors go the chairman of Agractie, an SGP member, announced his resignation this week for good reason. But more people are quitting their old jobs, such as Diederik Samson, who apparently no longer enjoys life in Brussels without Frans Timmermans, and Jan Huitema, who is mentioned in connection with Van der Tak's vacancy as foreman of LTO Nederland.