Nitrogen minister does not rule out forced stop

Christianne van der Wal (VVD), the Minister of Nitrogen and Nature, does not rule out the possibility that livestock farms will eventually be forced to stop. That is what the new minister said this evening (Monday 10 January) during a special broadcast of the NOS, in which the new ministers were presented. "I can't rule it out. But I will do everything I can to prevent it, because of course this is not what you want," said Van der Wal. 

The minister does not yet know how painful the nitrogen choices will be for farmers. "I don't know that yet, but I don't rule out anything. I think that's also the honest story. We really can't give guarantees here. But I want, I can give that guarantee, really talking to everyone to see : what is that perspective. Ultimately, we will renovate the Netherlands. It is the third renovation in the Netherlands. And then you have to look at each area: what is possible here, what is possible. And then it is not just about agriculture, it is also about about industry, roads, homes. That way we actually have to redesign it per area, the rural area." 

Making agriculture future-proof
In the same broadcast, Henk Staghouwer (ChristenUnie), the new Minister of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality (LNV), also spoke. Being the second largest agricultural exporter in the world is certainly not an end in itself for the new minister. When asked whether agriculture should be fundamentally different, he said in the NOS broadcast: "We have seen that we have run into limits recently. We now have to invent those limits in a different way. that we also make agriculture future-proof in the Netherlands. And I think it is possible. Having a conversation with the sector: what is that dot on the horizon, what is the direction we should go. Well, that's where we meet It's not just in agriculture, it's horticulture, but also fishing. Actually, the same problems are going on in all three sectors." 

According to Staghouwer, it is a utopia to think that you can satisfy all farmers. "That's impossible. But I'll do my best."    

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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