Prime Minister Mark Rutte has said that he was impressed by his meeting with farmers and agricultural delegates today at the Catshuis in The Hague. The Minister for Agriculture was also present.
Most of the farmers said that they had a good conversation with the Prime Minister, but that concrete measures to tackle the nitrogen crisis and their role in it were still lacking. This morning Rutte also unveiled measures to bring construction work back on line, as it was halted a couple of weeks ago due to new regulations intended to combat the nitrogen crisis. However, given the housing shortage in the Netherlands, this was not an ideal consequence.
In order for this to be possible, farmers will have to feed their animals new food, so that their dung doesn’t release as much ammonia. The farmers don’t really have a problem with this, but they fear more sever measures being introduced. There have been talks of reducing the amount of livestock in the Netherlands significantly. They are afraid their profession will disappear.
According to Rutte, the government is committed to ensuring that farmers who want to continue farming can. Minister Schouten emphasised that there would be compensation for those who want to call it a day, though.
What are your thoughts on the government’s solution? Let us know in the comments below.
Feature image: Cekay/Wikimedia Commons.
