And the Council of Ministers decided that, Friday, at the last meeting of the Council of Ministers before the summer vacation. Nitrogen Minister van der Waal and Agriculture Minister Stäguer have given the green light to 45 proposals from the provinces to speed up nitrogen emissions reductions and improve nature. This can be done by buying farmers, but also by supporting innovation.

The €504 million comes from a fund of over €24 billion that has yet to be established for the nitrogen approach. This amount is now spent much earlier than previously planned.

In addition, 250 million euros will be allocated to the provinces’ plans to urgently grant clearance to so-called PAS correspondents. That was the wish of the CDA. PAS reporters are farmers who obtained a nature permit between 2015 and 2019, but were later found not eligible for it. Legalization of these farmers was agreed in the coalition agreement: by 2025 at the latest.

to plan

In this way, the cabinet is responding in part to the complaints of regional officials, who believe that The Hague offers little clarity on the nitrogen approach. On Friday, the province of Nord-Brabant asked for money to start. By July 2023 at the latest, all counties should have a plan ready showing how they have reduced half of their county’s nitrogen emissions by 2030.

In the meantime, there is still a lot of turmoil regarding the lack of a cultivator’s perspective in all the plans. Agriculture Minister Stagoire promised to submit a new proposal after the summer. For a month, farmers across the country have been protesting government plans to cut livestock by about 30 percent.