It's time for more common sense

In the Netherlands, there is a lot of fuss about the new government program, including the skimming of animal rights when selling and the scrapping of the NPLG. The 'we are going to do it completely differently' rhetoric has now been somewhat toned down, but it is clear that the new cabinet is pursuing a different course. Not everyone is happy with that. For example, the skimming of animal rights is a very sensitive point from the livestock farming sector.

Perhaps the most striking example of the sensitivities outside the sector is the reaction from several provinces to the scrapping of the NPLG. Money almost seems to exceed the underlying objectives. For the pot of over €24 billion that the Rutte IV cabinet had budgeted for the NPLG, the provinces made plans that would far exceed that budget. The first version of the provincial plans added together came to no less than almost €60 billion. To put it into perspective: after the PAS ruling by the Council of State, there were over 3.000 bottlenecks. It is a bit simplistic and the NPLG includes more than the PAS reporters, but if you calculate it back, we are talking about €20 million per PAS reporter.

Waste of time
Now that the entire program has been taken off the table, there are voices that it is a waste of the time, effort and resources that were invested in the NPLG. A good two years of work can be thrown in the trash. That the plans were perhaps a tad megalomaniac and that - to me as an outsider - it seems that the provinces have mainly focused on raking in as much money as possible from the central government, is conveniently not mentioned.

What is happening at national level is also happening at European level in a certain sense. The President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen recently received the final report of the Strategic Dialogue on Agriculture. The green goals in the Green Deal (based on the New Deal, the major crisis and recovery plan in the 1930s in the US) that characterised Von der Leyen's previous term of office are not being completely thrown overboard, but the focus in European agricultural policy must return to food security and a decent income for farmers. There are cautiously positive sounds from the agricultural sector about Von der Leyen's turn. What we have all done in the last few years with conditionalities, eco-schemes and GLMCs (to use European jargon) is anyone's guess. And here too, there are some critical sounds about the destruction of capital due to the change of course.

It is not strange that in a changing world and/or with new insights, things sometimes fail. As an entrepreneur, you sometimes make an investment that you later regret. In politics, this is even worse because there are elections every now and then. This is almost by definition at odds with the interests of the agricultural sector. Agriculture is a sector that needs a long-term vision. Many large investments simply have a long payback period (longer than one term of office).  

Good advice
From the perspective of long-term vision, it is commendable that government officials are extensively informed and that new policy is often based on numerous studies. Whether it concerns a European Commissioner, minister, deputy or alderman, few plans are presented without all the pros and cons having been extensively investigated. At least that is how they pretend. Whether at European, national, provincial or municipal level, consultancy firms, policy advisors and committees pop up everywhere that further elaborate plans, ideas or lines of thought of administrators.

I notice that when a change of course is made by ministers, confirmation is sought in piles of reports. The reliability of what the predecessor had investigated is questioned, the emphasis is placed on other points and loose ends are pointed out. The shell of advisors around ministers is more than willing to think along. The fact that research institutions, consultancy and engineering firms and so on have a direct interest in this, remains underexposed in my opinion. Whether the request is to reinvent the wheel or not; every hour that can be invoiced is a bonus.

common sense
To refer back to the NPLG: despite all the research, deliberations, etc., did no one ever think that goals, effects and budgets were perhaps not entirely in proportion? The same question can be asked about the Green Deal. Perhaps it is time to rely less on advice and make more use of common sense.