'Distribution of money stoppers and innovation must be better'

€25 billion has been earmarked for a nitrogen and transition fund. "It is rightly many billions, but the timeline and implementation are problematic", LTO chairman Sjaak van der Tak responds to the plans for agriculture in the coalition agreement presented on Wednesday 15 December. He also believes that the distribution of funds between stoppers and innovation should be different.

The vast majority of the above billions (€20 billion) is earmarked for the period up to 2030. The purchase of dairy, poultry and pig farmers will cost a total of €7,415 billion. €6,925 billion is available for depreciation of land belonging to dairy farmers. €5,293 billion is being earmarked for making the 'stayers' sustainable, of which €1,212 billion is for innovative barn systems and management measures.

Van der Tak believes that the distribution between the money for quitters and that for innovation needs to be better. "It is significant that the costs for 'execution of policy' - by €1,7 billion higher - are than €1 billion for the innovative housing systems."

Count your blessings: not halving livestock
Van der Tak counts in a (video) message on the website of LTO Nederland also his blessings: "There will be no zoning imposed from above, as some disastrous advice suggested. There will be no mass expropriation and there will be no halving of the livestock." In the meantime, however, the objectives from the Nitrogen Act are being five years early, to 2030. "The 50% reduction proposed in the coalition agreement is a doubling of the 26% target set earlier this year. Much of the requested money will come, but a unilateral increase of up to 50% is added. unrealistic, impracticable and will lead to major disappointments in the future."

Transition and change are only possible with a working revenue model, notes Van der Tak. "In order to arrive at a feasible government programme, the coalition agreement must first be calculated on the socio-economic reality of farmers and horticulturists as far as LTO Netherlands is concerned."

Linda van Eekeres

Linda van Eekeres is co-writing editor-in-chief. She mainly focuses on macro-economic developments and the influence of politics on the agricultural sector.

l.vaneekeres@boerenbusiness. Nl

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