'Manure rules encourage fraud'

The strict and complex manure rules encourage fraud with manure. That is the conclusion of the authors of the report 'Manure fraud under scrutiny', which was published this week in the Government Gazette. 

The researchers Piet Blauw and Marco Korff conclude that the existing manure regulations are extremely complex and that a further increase in the regulations will make enforcement more difficult than improve it. The authors write: "From the conversations we have had, it appears that in part of the sector fraud is being committed collectively by various agricultural entrepreneurs, intermediaries, consultants and fertilizer processors. The approach to this fraud is not very visible to the sector and it is necessary to break through these together.”

Fraud risk
The researchers further conclude that the risk of fraud increases due to the low prices in the pig sector and the high collection fees that livestock farmers pay to dispose of their manure, the stricter application standards in arable farming, the manure processing obligation and the emergence of (mobile) manure separators.

Minister Carola Schouten (Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality) wants to reduce fraud. The additional regulations are intended to make manure fraud more difficult. The Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality had been aware of the report on manure fraud for some time. The report dates from May 2016, but was published in the Government Gazette in mid-January 2018.

Partly on the basis of these recommendations, the sector has now a plan of action lined up; at the request of Carola Schouten. The sector is currently working on a quality mark for the entire fertilizer chain.

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