Don’t let peak loaders stop, but switch over. In short, that is the idea launched by a group of organizations around extensive and nature-inclusive farmers on Saturday during their ‘Green Farmers Conference’ in Utrecht. Nitrogen minister Christianne van der Wal could also use the money she allocates to stop farmers for an attractive fee in a different way, they argue.
They argue for a construction in which the government takes over the land and then labels it long-term as agricultural land. The land then ends up in a land bank, for example, and can be leased for a long period by the former owner. This is done on the condition that the renewed company works in harmony with nature.
Van der Wal will approach a group of 2000 to 3000 peak loaders, she announced in November. They will receive a one-off offer to stop on attractive terms. Switching or relocating is also possible, but closure has been the main line of thought so far. The idea is that this approach should lead to so much nitrogen reduction that the way out of the crisis is really taken. The elaboration of the cabinet plans – for example who exactly those peak taxers are – will be announced next week.
Land badly needed for agriculture
The green farmers’ conversion plan cuts both ways, argues co-initiator Bregje Hamelynck. “Many farmers fear that their land will be used for housing. That would be a shame: for farmers to leave their land goes against the feeling of farmers and many other people. Because we desperately need good soil for sustainable agriculture. And in this way it remains available for food production.”
But with the strict condition that a farmer works in harmony with nature. “That switch is now difficult for many farmers to make,” says Hamelynck. “As long as he has a business, a farmer often has a debt to the bank. The land is his pension.” In fact, he brings that pension forward and the proceeds from the sale can be used to finance the switch to a different business model.
Provinces have to put together the nitrogen puzzle
The idea stems from the ‘Groenboerenplan’ launched last year, with Biohuis, Caring Farmers, the Federation of Agro-ecological Farmers and Herenboeren Nederland as the main initiators. But is it realistic? Will anything come of it?
The nitrogen approach of the provinces seems to offer starting points for this. They must put together the puzzle around nature reserves in the coming years. Which peak loaders are leaving? How can nature recover? And what is the future of companies close to nature? Such questions call for an active land policy, in which the initiative of the green farmers would fit.
The question is to what extent peak loaders themselves are jumping. Farmer magazine New harvest recently conducted a survey among farmers about how they want to become more sustainable. 27 percent saw extensification as the main option; such a lease construction could be a solution for them. But the group that sees scaling up as a future direction was larger at 33 percent. Certainly not every farmer will want to, Hamelynck admits. “A company like that has to suit you. For farmers who prefer to produce for large-scale export, moving will be a better option.”
Although that is a path that Hamelynck, who himself has a self-harvest garden in the Frisian town of Sijbrandaburen, would not recommend. “Because where can that be done in the Netherlands?” she wonders. In Flevoland and Groningen, the government – without really saying so aloud – seems to see room. “But Europe is also reducing the use of pesticides there. Stricter conditions for emissions and water quality will also apply in those areas. With the good ground we still have, we should not continue on the same path. Such a lease construction can be a way out. Not only for peak loaders, but for every farmer who is now stuck in the current system.”
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