Disappointment in the Netherlands as Agricultural Accord falls through

Neither farmer’s representatives nor the cabinet hid their disappointment on Wednesday after negotiations on the long-debated Agricultural Accord were ultimately laid to rest late on Tuesday night, following the exodus of agrarian business association LTO Nederland.

As part of the Dutch cabinet’s attempts to cut down on nitrogen emissions to comply with EU directives, the agreement was supposed to aid the Dutch agrarian sector in becoming more sustainable in the future and had been at the negotiation stage for months.

“The maximum achievable agreement does not offer our farmers and horticulturists the prospects they deserve,” LTO chairman Sjaak van der Tak stated in a video message on the association’s website.

“It does not lead to the restoration of trust between our industry and the government that we so desperately need,” he added.

Van der Tak named both a lack of perspective on how transitioning farmers would be financially supported as well as the cabinet’s persistence in introducing binding methods to reduce emissions and achieve sustainability responsible for the negotiations failing, with the proposed cap of 2.5-3 cows per hectare of farmland irking farmers’ representatives in particular.

Instead, LTO had advocated for an approach where farmers could decide how to reach emission norms and sustainability goals themselves.

Despite other organisations also partaking in negotiations, agreeing without LTO as the country’s largest farmers’ association was not seen as a feasible solution.

Just last week, LTO reasserted its commitment to agree after the organisation had left the negotiation table earlier the same week, citing fundamental disagreements concerning the content of the accord.

Political reactions

“The disappointment is obvious,” Agriculture Minister Piet Adema (CU/EPP) stated after negotiations were stopped.

“Farmers are entitled to certainty, clarity and peace of mind. We wanted to offer them that with the Agriculture Accord. Now they still don’t have clarity, and everything is being pushed back again,” he added.

Adema stated that he was surprised by LTO leaving negotiations, as he said the framework for a successful agreement was given.

For opposition lawmakers, on the other hand, the negotiations fizzling out did not come as a surprise.

“With only targets and obligations imposed without guarantees on earning model (income), no guarantees on long-term entrepreneurial security, and having to surrender cattle without knowing how farmers can continue, I think this makes sense,” Christine van der Plas, leader of agrarian protest party BoerBurgerBeweging (BBB), tweeted.

“A dead end from the start. An agriculture in balance with nature and climate requires cabinet vision and leadership. Both are lacking […],” tweeted Laura Bromet, MP for GroenLinks (GL/Greens).

Despite Van der Tak stating that he would be open for new negotiations later this year, Adema rebutted that the cabinet would discuss taking decisions unilaterally on Friday.

(Benedikt Stöckl | EURACTIV.com)