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BRUSSELS (ANP) – Farmers who voluntarily give up their livestock business can be compensated with a new subsidy scheme. The European Commission has approved Dutch subsidies totaling 50 million euros.
The program is in addition to compensation schemes for farmers previously approved by Brussels. The new scheme is intended for farmers who do not fall under one of the other schemes, for example, because they keep a different type of animal, such as veal calves, ducks, or rabbits.
The purpose of the compensation is to encourage farmers to stop their business to reduce nitrogen emissions near nature reserves. This harmful emission is partly caused by animal manure.
The new Dutch Minister of Agriculture Femke Wiersma is pleased with the approval, even though she herself wants to pay more attention to ways to continue farming rather than helping to stop. The buyout was initiated by the previous cabinet and “that will just be completed,” said the BBB member after the cabinet meeting. She points out that the cessation scheme is voluntary. “That is also why I am not against it.”
The continuation of the buyout schemes does not give farmers the impression that nothing is changing under BBB leadership, Wiersma thinks. “I am absolutely not afraid of that. She will soon come with “really new accents” and “really a very clear new line.”
The European Commission assesses national subsidy schemes to see if they cause unfair competition. The commission sees no problems in this case because the scheme is relatively limited and at the same time urgently needed to achieve European climate and nature goals.
(August 23, 2024)