2023-05-23 09:25:00
The municipality of Ede wants to enable the expansion of a number of farms, on the condition that an entrepreneur invests heavily in nitrogen reduction. The emissions of a dairy farm must be reduced by 30 percent, with intensive livestock farms (chickens, pigs or calves) a percentage of 40 percent applies.
The step taken by the Gelderland municipality is remarkable; it is unusual for municipalities to develop their own nitrogen policy. A municipality sets conditions for agricultural companies through the zoning plan, but it is precisely the province that is responsible for the nature permit – and therefore the nitrogen emissions – of farmers. Alderman Jan Pieter van der Schans (CDA) explains.
Why are you doing this as a church?
“In the debate regarding nitrogen, it is often regarding farmers who stop. But there is also a group that does want to continue. Here in the Gelderse Vallei we have had to deal with an intensification and concentration of companies. That is no longer sustainable. But we also have more farmers in Ede in the age group of 60 to 80 than in the group of 20 to 40. We also want to give the group that wants to stay the space for a future-proof company.”
Are you going over this? Or do companies run the risk of not obtaining a permit from the province?
“This is in line with the province’s nitrogen policy. For example, there are companies that have space in their nature permit, but can only expand if we as a municipality change the zoning plan. In that case, we will only allow an extension if total emissions fall sharply.
“We have regarding twenty requests on the shelf. Not everyone qualifies. Farmers within 500 meters of nature are not allowed. On the contrary, we want to prevent us from cooperating in planning, and that a company ultimately turns out to be unsustainable because of stricter nitrogen standards. And we want to get to work: don’t wait endlessly for the light to shine in The Hague.
“Ultimately, we expect this to be a solution for eight to twelve companies. We do want to prevent farmers who now reduce their emissions by half, for example, from having to do so once more, if a national measure is introduced. And vice versa, we want to prevent the nitrogen space that a farmer reduces from still being available, so that it can be resold to another farmer, for example. We are now looking into exactly how that can be done.”
According to various studies, new housing systems appear to work less well than expected. Do you assume that they do what they promise?
“It is also not right to pretend that nothing works at all. The biggest doubts are in dairy barns; we mainly deal with poultry and calves here. The 40 percent is also a lower limit: we prescribe the best available technology. In some cases, this will yield more nitrogen reduction than 40 percent. That also provides a buffer for when a system does not work as expected.”
Read also:
Gelderland does not have nitrogen plans for rural areas ready by July 1
Gelderland will not have the Provincial Program for Rural Areas, of which the nitrogen policy forms part, ready on 1 July. On July 1, Minister of Nature Christianne van der Wal wants to know from all provinces what the plans for the rural area, including the proposed nitrogen reduction, will look like in outline.
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