Agriculture immediately withdraws from nitrogen consultation with LNV

Agractie will immediately withdraw from consultations with the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality (LNV) about nitrogen-reducing measures. The organization hopes that all other sector organizations will follow this example, Agractie writes in a letter to Minister Carola Schouten.

Agractie wants 'first to get a guarantee that the costs that farmers have to incur for these measures will be reimbursed'. "The wallets of dairy farmers are empty, even more tax increases are not acceptable in this situation! For these reasons, we will therefore withdraw from discussions about the reducing measures and call on the other sector parties to do the same", Agractie said.

A number of points that, according to Agractie, should be regulated in the Nitrogen Act, have partly been incorporated into the law through motions and amendments. At the same time, an additional 24% reduction between 2030 and 2035 has also been laid down in law, which Agractie considers 'after calculation on a number of points, it is definitely unfeasible and unaffordable'.

According to Agractie there are a number of matters that urgently need to be settled. So there is the external netting. "Although a good number of provinces have opened up external netting, an unambiguous registration system for nitrogen, which meets the minimum conditions, is not yet ready." Agractie also cites the situation around PAS detectors. "Meanwhile, PAS reporters and other unlicensed companies will remain in uncertainty for years to come and have become even more outlawed now that their addresses also have to be published."

First room
Agractie once again urges the Senate, which will decide tomorrow whether to declare the Nitrogen Act controversial, not to agree with the law, "or at least to scrap the increased reduction target of 24% between 2030 and 2035 while it is being discussed."

Finally, Agractie points out that there are doubts about the basis of the law, the so-called 'Critical Deposition Values'. "Nature-sensitive 'nature' is added arbitrarily by provinces, so that the goal to which they are working is not fixed."

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

© DCA Market Intelligence. This market information is subject to copyright. It is not permitted to reproduce, distribute, disseminate or make the content available to third parties for compensation, in any form, without the express written permission of DCA Market Intelligence.