Manure dealer, look yourself in the mirror

On Saturday 11 November we were able to hear a juicy story about the manure conspiracy; written by Joep Dohmen and Esther Rosenberg of the NRC.

NRC has invested a lot of time in collecting information, conducting a hearing and interviewing stakeholders. Animated films have embellished the article. Somewhat tendentious but good, the other day the newspaper is used to wrap the fish. Objectivity is just a myth. With this, NRC has exposed part of manure fraud and thus creates the necessary chaos in manure land. But it is also an opportunity to bring about change.

home entertainment
Today the media fulfill a curious role: on the one hand they provide a technological form of home entertainment, on the other hand they offer a rather critical 'window on the world'. The manure world had a prominent turn on Saturday. It could have been fraudulent banks, insurers, politicians, accountants, health care directors, doctors, notaries or lawyers for the same ease. In many cases, it has already been their turn or they will probably be next week.

If you denounce the journalistic chromium 6, which has been used at a train company, (which poses serious health risks), we also applaud this. When it comes to fraud by others, we scream murder and we participate in the negative statements. But when the 'window to the world' concerns ourselves, we en masse believe that this is unjustified. That says more about us than about the media.

Certificate of incapacity
After the article was published, interest groups were urgently summoned to publish a news item and form an opinion about the article. Often one does not get any further than downplaying and minimizing the problem. They call that limiting damage. Usually they point at someone else, they rarely look in the mirror and there is hardly any self-reflection. The black pete is soon at the manure distribution.

The organisations, LTO foremost, have apparently never heard of chain responsibility and liability. But what have the advocacy groups done in recent decades to tackle the problem, other than playing the ostrich? Don't they deserve a certificate of incapacity? Mind you, we are all part of the manure chain and should each take our responsibility.

'The best way to cause chaos is to arrange everything'
In the manure world we do not drown in manure. We bring them abroad. On the other hand, we are drowning in an impenetrable mush of manure rules, which even a seasoned, very experienced and almost retired NVWA employee can no longer fathom.

A manure intermediary no longer gets around to doing business and sleeping, he lies shivering and trembling in bed, with binders under his pillow full of the impenetrable forest of manure rules. Rules that are not seen as useful do not invite compliance. Fuck the rules and come up with better rules; which are more controllable and enforceable and we, the manure chain, must behave accordingly.

'Naming', 'blaming' and 'shaming'
Of course, someone who is proven and who knowingly and systematically and on a large scale cheats the ball, may get attention. This has a preventive effect. But what has now happened, without any proof (only on strong suspicion), parties via home entertainment and social media, to the pillory. That is worrisome.

However, it goes without saying that the new (social) media can no longer be ignored and we must therefore act so that this belongs in our world. We can no longer resist that. We need to deal with it appropriately and be prepared for it. Home entertainment and social media are part of reality.

Many of us have been fined at some point. That is not acceptable, but as long as it is not knowingly and willingly, we should respond appropriately, appropriately and with restraint. Tomorrow it could affect you or us and you are not always aware of it. It is emphatically our task to hold everyone accountable for their actions. It doesn't go from bad to worse.

Behavioral change
The motivation to mess around is too strong for some of us; the monetary incentives are hard to resist and customers demand it. The standard in the chain is anything but regulatory compliance. The social group norm has meanwhile become ingrained in acceptance of non-compliance and is even in danger of becoming commonplace. The well-to-do parties are dragged into it. That is sad and deserves all the attention. Everyone in the chain must, for their part, take a strong approach to this.

First of all, behavioral change is primarily the responsibility of the individual entrepreneur. The motivation to comply must be strengthened. The motivation for non-compliance must be removed. This is where the necessary change starts to arrive at a healthy, reliable and honest fertilizer industry.

But the government and politicians are not exempt from the change in behaviour. They are also part of the fertilizer chain. The government has a duty of care and it must steer parties that may go astray. She shouldn't be spying behind a tree for 3 years, until things really go wrong. Going straight for coffee at the first signals and steer the entrepreneur in question, that's the way it should be. Scientific research has also shown that timely corrective behavior works better than the current working method.

Wilfried Neelen

Tried and tested in business advice. Fulfilled multiple executive and managerial positions. In the last 20 years mainly active in the fertilizer distribution and contracting sector. Motto: we do the right things and do things right.

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