Van Essen warns dairy farmers over phosphate rights breaches
Agriculture Minister Jaimi van Essen told dairy farmers who keep more cows than their phosphate rights allow to comply by the end of the year, or face a fine or a prison sentence.
Van Essen made the warning on Tuesday during question hour in the Tweede Kamer. "Stick to the rules and make sure you don't get a criminal record. This year we can still turn the tide," he said.
The minister first had to answer questions on why so many farmers appear to be breaking the rules on phosphate rights (fosfaatrechten). Since 2018, dairy farmers may not keep more cows than they hold rights for.
The food safety authority NVWA checked a sample of 200 farms. It found that more than half of dairy farmers presumably have more cows than they hold rights for, an increase on last year. The NVWA called the situation "worrying in any case".
Laura Bromet of the PRO party said she is worried about the scale of the fraud. She asked whether the NVWA has enough staff, and whether the cabinet should trust farmers to meet future nitrogen requirements when many already break the rules.
Van Essen will present the details of his nitrogen plans on Friday.
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Tweede Kamer
The House of Representatives, the lower and more powerful house of the Dutch parliament. Its 150 members are elected directly; it can amend bills and holds the cabinet to account.
fosfaatrechten
Phosphate rights are permits that link the number of dairy cows a farm may keep to the amount of manure phosphate it is allowed to produce. The system was introduced to limit phosphate pollution from livestock manure, which affects nature and water quality in the Netherlands. Since 2018, dairy farmers may not keep more cows than the phosphate rights they hold cover.
NVWA (Nederlandse Voedsel- en Warenautoriteit)
The Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority is the government agency that supervises food safety, animal health and welfare, and consumer products. It carries out inspections on farms, in food businesses and in shops. Its checks are part of how the Dutch government enforces rules such as the phosphate rights system for dairy farms.