Background Nitrogen mood
Van Essen doesn't tap into the tough guy's barrel
By choosing Jaimi van Essen as the new Minister of Agriculture, D66 is clearly taking a different approach than it has in the past. No tough-guy approach, nor any powerful women, as the VVD did with Nitrogen Minister Christianne van der Wal. No, in Van Essen, the party is choosing a kind and reasonable person, who is still a virtually blank slate for national politics.
At least, that's the perception. His actions should demonstrate whether that's true. Caroline van der Plas's "buckle-up" approach seems a bit alarmist. His membership in various green and sustainable organizations also doesn't tell the whole story. Nevertheless, Van Essen is expected to have to make some painful decisions quite quickly in his new position.
Many challenges, few certainties
Just being nice won't cut it, because the derogation is gone and there's too much manure. There's also still a strict reduction target for emissions from livestock farms. Moreover, some new certainties, such as the legal establishment of a new arithmetic lower limit and certainly a new permit system based on target-based management, will still take some time, according to LTO chairman Ger Koopmans and Lubbert van Dellen, a seasoned business consultant at Flynth. indicated this week.
Tail quota
In terms of legal certainty, the fate of many agricultural businesses is still hanging between heaven and earth. No one in agriculture wants to say it out loud, but it's likely that several measures will be implemented in the near future to further reduce livestock numbers. A reduction in the number of tails, as it's called, and not just in cattle. It's not written down so explicitly anywhere, but it's easy to guess.
Circumstances lend themselves
The circumstances also lend themselves to this politically: A large manure surplus and Renure also offers no solution yetAccording to the latest reports, the program will be available starting this summer at the earliest. Meanwhile, the Netherlands must comply with a stricter Nitrate Action Program. Furthermore, the expectation is that there will no longer be a BBB or other influential political party willing to stand up to farmers to protect them.
Behind the scenes, groups like MOB will continue to press enforcement for as long as they can, targeting businesses that haven't yet been licensed. "You don't have to abuse a crisis, but you can certainly use it," a senior civil servant once confided to me. Upcoming (nitrogen) measures don't need to be announced with great fanfare, but they will be presented as unavoidable.
Revaluation of facts
Meanwhile, a certain reassessment of the facts is taking place. What wasn't possible under the last Rutte administrations, and wasn't really possible under the Schoof administration, is now happening. Not only among the general public, but also among a growing number of scientists, there's growing nitrogen fatigue. More and more researchers are saying they're done with all the nonsense they see being peddled on this topic. This is illustrative of a column by researcher Guido Camps in the WUR University Magazine, of all places. Retired scientists such as nitrogen expert Han Lindeboom respond with reliefMeanwhile, the fanatics and politically useful people of recent years are backing off.
Dutch fixation
Is it all back to normal now that the BBB is no longer a threat to the established order in The Hague? It could be a factor, but these are also natural developments. Moreover, many people understand that nitrogen isn't to blame for everything. It's a very Dutch fixation, which also happens to play a role in Flanders, but that's because they've largely copied the Dutch system there. Han Lindeboom: "We ourselves are full of nitrogen, and thankfully so, because otherwise there would be no life. And regarding the free-floating nitrogen in the Netherlands, we know that emissions have already decreased by 65% since the 1990s. What we're limiting now is a residual."
Leiden third-year students
Discussions are also increasingly turning in other areas. For example, about the wolf. In recent years, concern about the growing wolf problem seemed to be a political issue primarily for the BBB and SGP. Gradually, other parties are also realizing that a serious problem has arisen in rural areas, where even Leiden third-year students who want to go to camp are experiencing problems. Perhaps it helps that such a signal is now also coming from the Randstad. The thirteen or fourteen packs and a few solitary animals haven't ventured into that area yet, but mainly stick around the Veluwe and the Drenthe-Frisia nature reserves, according to provincial data. So, they are traveling the other way around, and that helps raise awareness.
Klaas van der Horst
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