Outgoing minister Piet Adema is a patient man, or an arch doubter. More than a month ago, he informed the House of Representatives that he would come up with a decision on the manure problem in Dutch livestock farming at the end of March. Because of the state of affairs surrounding the derogation (from the Nitrate Directive), there is a pressing manure surplus, his ministry continually reports. He and his predecessors regularly discussed this with the European Commission, but the Minister of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality always came home empty-handed.
The minister is now really faced with a decision, but not before Easter, he reports. The intention now is to inform the House as early as possible in the first half of April. The minister does not say what his mood is now, but given his previous statements - that he is very pessimistic - you could possibly deduce that things are now going somewhat better. Because why else would there be further delay?
There are stories going around that some kind of commercial discount is in the air, but the extent of it is not clear. Perhaps Adema will use his procrastination days to gauge this out.
Abandoning prophet of doom
Politics and society have been hearing for years that the Dutch manure problem is so bizarrely bad and that all kinds of things are going wrong. Just this week, someone was dismissed from the House of Representatives who, since his years in the dairy industry, has emerged as a prophet of doom about livestock farming, but who must also know that something is not quite right about that message.
Good for over 30 years
With his background and his collaboration with Laurens Jan Brinkhorst, who was one of the founders of the Nitrate Directive, he should know differently. Or do politicians not look back? Because has anyone ever considered that since the European Nitrate Directive was designed in 1988 and adopted in 1991, little or nothing has changed in the nitrate load of groundwater in the Netherlands? At the time, there were already fears that the 50 milligram limit would be exceeded, but things have not gotten worse since. 33 years have passed and all kinds of measures have indeed been taken, but they have had an effect.
RIVM not worried
Despite a temporary increase in the nitrate content at companies on sand in an exceptionally dry summer, the derogation has had no negative effects on water quality in the years since 2006, RIVM concluded in a study from 2022.
Instead of arriving in Brussels with these types of reports, Adema sent a flawed report from the water boards to Brussels a few months ago. Also studies by Herman de Boer about the lower than expected leaching sensitivity of nitrogen from animal manure, are preferably not mentioned.
Academic freedom on X
Even Adema's scientific advisory committee, the CDM, seems to prefer not to know this piece. The committee chairman is said to have too close ties with the fertilizer industry, to underestimate the risks of fertilizer leaching and to prefer to submit his own (older) work. There is now information about this on X a lively discussion to arise. But hey, if that's the place where academic freedom can still exist today, then great!
Not doing one thing, being told to do another
From there to Adema's political freedom: perhaps despite his complaints about space in Brussels, the minister has not yet taken a good look at the legal texts, their elaboration options and the documents he can put on the table. And sometimes it is also tied to wanting and daring. How is it possible, for example, that the Netherlands silently ignores a Brussels complaint about access to information on environmental matters (Arhus Treaty) and allows itself to be so instructed in the field of nitrates.
This could still be a great task for Adema's possible BBB successor, although a decision on the manure policy for the coming years will probably have already been made when he took office.
Already, or only 10 PAS reporters have been helped
As part of her remaining work, Adema's equally outgoing colleague Van der Wal also sent again this week a state of affairs report on the PAS detectors. This will not have made agriculture much happier either. According to the minister, about a quarter of the 2.488 requests for legalization have now been helped. Unfortunately it sounds better than it is. Of that quarter, 378 companies were told that there is no solution. These cases are only resolved in the experience of an official behind the desk, because the case has been resolved. A minority of around 140 companies can really continue and of these, 130 have been determined that on closer inspection they did not need additional nitrogen space. Perhaps ten companies have been helped in some way. The promise of the Rutte 2 cabinet to help PAS reporters does not come across as a very expensive commitment.
Nature restoration confusion
Last week it also became clear that Minister Van der Wal has still not thought through her voting behavior on the European Nature Restoration Regulation. As a minister she may have voted against (or voted against, because she does not seem to have been spotted in Brussels), but she is not very convinced. She signaled that the Belgian presidency of the EU is investigating whether the blocking minority against the proposal can still be lifted. And if it were up to Van der Wal, she doesn't seem to want to do much about it.