News Politics
D66 wants half as many pigs in the Netherlands
The ruling party D66 announced on Monday 9 September that the number of pigs and chickens in the country should be halved. In this way, the party sees opportunities to create space for housing.
The plan, which comes from D66 MP Tjeerd de Groot, follows the decision of the Council of State. A few weeks ago, he ruled that the Nitrogen Approach Program (PAS) is not working properly. This ruling puts thousands of construction projects in jeopardy. De Groot reports that 70% of nitrogen emissions come from the agricultural sector. "The majority of this comes from intensive livestock farming," he tells the OUR† "On the other hand, the contribution of this sector to our economy is less than 1%. So the ratio is completely off."
By keeping about 50 million fewer chickens and 6 million fewer pigs, nitrogen emissions should decrease significantly. "This will create more space for housing," says De Groot. In concrete terms, D66 wants farmers to stop or switch to circular agriculture. "In addition, the government must offer financial support in both choices. We also believe that extra money should be made available to buy out companies," De Groot said. Algemeen Dagblad† In the Climate Agreement, €0,5 billion has also been made available to buy out farmers. The ruling party wants this money, of which nothing has yet been spent, according to the MP, to be used quickly.
'This is not the solution'
In an initial response, CDA reports that it will not immediately embrace D66's plan. "Writing off the agricultural sector in 1 stroke of the pen is not a solution to the nitrogen problem," writes Jaco Geurts (CDA) on Twitter. He continues on Facebook: "It requires an integral assessment of the economic activities. That is a complicated jigsaw puzzle that the Remkes Committee is now looking at."
On Monday afternoon, Minister Carola Schouten (Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality) also reacted fairly irritated to D66's plan. According to her, the plan is unrealistic and does not solve the problem. During the walk-in to the cabinet meeting, she said: "It is not chic that as a farmer or farmer's wife, who works hard every day, you read in the newspaper that you can disappear. After all, this is about our food supply."
Hans van de Heuvel, the director of LTO Nederland, is also clearly not happy with the plan. He reports to BNR Nieuwsradio that De Groot used the wrong tables. "The nitrogen emissions are not 70%, but 40%. The party uses outdated tables." He also says that the plan will not only affect the farmer and horticulturist, but the entire chain. "De Groot doesn't seem to realize that."
GroenLinks pleads for emergency law
Jesse Klaver, the leader of GroenLinks, states in a response to D66's plan that an emergency law must be passed before the end of September to tackle the problems surrounding nitrogen emissions. In addition, like De Groot, he wants the cabinet to allocate extra money for buying out farmers. "We have €500 million a year in mind for 15 years." This should ensure that the factory farming sector can be halved during that period.
However, Klaver does not only focus on the agricultural sector, but states that the emergency law must also lay down a ban on the growth of air traffic. "The speed limit on all highways must also be reduced to 120 kilometers per hour. On highways that run through or along nature reserves, the speed must be reduced to 100 kilometers per hour," he said in a statement.
Kimberly Baker
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