Has the lease final finally been reached?

The long-awaited lease letter from Minister Carola Schouten (Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality) appeared 2 days after the elections for the Provincial Council and 2 weeks after my resignation as chairman of the Association of Land Tenants and Own Land Users (BLHB). The latter will be a coincidence, but I think the former indicates that there must have been some political haggling before the letter came out.

We'll probably never find out what that political haggling was about, though that doesn't matter (to me anyway). In the general consultation Lease on Wednesday 27 March it became clear that the (agricultural) spokespersons of all parties agree with Minister Schouten. That makes me happy.

Positive reactions
The Dutch Agricultural Youth Contact (NAJK) and the BLHB have already announced that they are positive about the new lease policy, and LTO Nederland has also responded positively in the meantime. In addition, the Federation for Private Land Ownership (FPG) says it is positive, although (as was to be expected) it does have reservations about the limitation of short-term leases. The minister has therefore succeeded in finding the right tone and content of the lease policy. My compliments for that.

The intention is to introduce a newer form of long-term lease, with a freer price. Schouten considers it important that the existing regular lease contracts are respected and that short-term leases are discouraged. My previous objections to the Spelderholt Agreement are hereby dispelled.

Draft bill
Schouten intends to submit a draft bill this year, so that the bill can be discussed in 2020. In my opinion, the various interest groups would do well to reach an agreement, in order to enable a smooth process.

We must prevent politicians from hijacking the lease in The Hague in order to achieve other political objectives, which, for example, do not apply to land with ownership or leasehold. I will continue to follow the theme of 'lease' from the sidelines and wish all those involved every success in completing this lease file.

Peter van der Eijk

Piet van der Eijk was the chairman of the Association of Land Tenants and Own Land Users (BLHB) from 2012 to the beginning of 2019. He also has an arable farm in the Biesbosch polder in the outskirts of the Eiland van Dordrecht.

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