News Nitrogen
LNV officials wanted to pop with a purchase report
The report 'Relaxing Netherlands', which got agriculture on its back legs at the end of June with the recommendation to buy up agricultural companies in the Groene Hart and the Veluwe, had to be introduced to the world even more juicier. This was the opinion of officials from the Ministry of Agriculture (LNV).
Before the presentation, the officials exerted influence on the direction and color of the report. This is shown by disclosed communications between these officials and the planners. The report was the provisional crown on the work of a working group of former agriculture minister Cees Veerman, retired agricultural researcher Krijn Poppe, nitrogen professor Jan Willem Erisman and landscape architect Berno Strootman.
Since January of this year - long before the elections to the House of Representatives - this group had been talking with LNV about how the nitrogen problem could be tackled in order to 'get the Netherlands back on track'. Not only in terms of nature and nitrogen, but also, for example, in housing. Officials from Economic Affairs also regularly attended these discussions. Minister Schouten was regularly updated and occasionally also Prime Minister Mark Rutte.
Relaxed Netherlands with some 'bang'
Parallel to the talks, a report was drawn up under the direction and contracting of Strootman (and partly on the initiative of LNV), which was eventually given the title of 'Relaxing Netherlands'. It mapped out the emission/nitrogen target for the Netherlands and how the Netherlands could get out of trouble again. Among other things, by buying up and converting agricultural land, creating more nature and designating new housing areas. The presentation of the report would be accompanied by a press release, which was initially referred back by LNV officials. It wasn't expressive enough. Strootman and Erisman were asked to provide 'more bang for a buck'.
The officials wanted to consider whether the minister would also receive the report. As a flanking policy and as a gesture to the agricultural organizations participating in the discussion, work was done on 'an interview with an agricultural magazine, emphasizing perspective for the farmer. With this they want to meet the sentiments, but from their own line', according to the published documents.
Still a nice teaser
When the report appeared to be leaked to De Telegraaf on 25 June and the commotion was not over (because: Groene Hart and Gelderse Vallei could be overhauled), the members of the support group decided to close the shutters for a while. Erisman: "We will not respond further..." Still, according to him, the Telegraaf story could be 'a nice teaser' for his report. They were more shocked at LNV. Instruction followed to say when questions were asked that the report was not commissioned by the ministry, but 'with a subsidy from'. Because the reactions were more intense than initially estimated, the LNV officials no longer found it so useful to have the report officially received by the minister. Erisman and Strootman wanted us to.
Various elements from the consultation between 'the retired men' (Erisman statement) with the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality are reflected in the coalition agreement. According to the documents, the proposal for an additional minister for nitrogen and related matters also appears to have been discussed long ago.
The Ministry of LNV paid a total of €200.000 as a subsidy for drawing up the report. In connection with European subsidy rules, it had to stay within these limits. It was quite a task to keep everyone satisfied with this, especially when it turned out that within this amount also VAT payment had to be taken into account. That was because Strootman's office carried out the assignment, making use of the services Erisman and Poppe.
Klaas van der Horst
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