Minister Adema will therefore adhere to his agreements with the House of Representatives and his EU counterparts in 2023, but sees other possibilities for the coming year.
After the monthly EU agriculture meeting in Brussels, Adema said when asked that he would be willing to advocate with Agriculture Commissioner Wojciechowski for a separate arrangement for 'leaching-sensitive areas.' Other EU countries will likely have practical examples of this as well. It may also be necessary to focus only on 'certain crops.'
Adema announced that he is willing to consult with the Dutch agricultural sector. He was responding to a recent request from the Dutch agricultural umbrella organization LTO. The potato growers pointed out that nature does not simply follow the human calendar.
Adema said that if the sector comes up with an alternative that fits within the European figures and criteria for leaching and soil pollution, he would be willing to bring it to Brussels. With such an approach (staying within environmental criteria but by another route), the Netherlands managed last year to break open the deadlocked EU debate on allowing fertilization from natural sources (Renure).
Other countries have also previously pushed Brussels in vain to shift the calendar date for sowing cover crops. EU countries want to uphold the objectives of the common agricultural policy, but if those criteria can be met in other ways, Brussels is usually open to discussion, was the essence of Adema’s response.
He also pointed out that (for example) the potato sector can already choose to harvest after October 1 due to the slow growth of the crop (and then sow cover crops), whereby they will be allowed to use 5 kilos less fertilizer from Brussels in the coming season. According to Adema, some farmers do not even use that 5 kilos.