Flemish ‘endangered’ farms to request reevaluation regarding nitrogen agreement
Flemish farmers who believe that they should unjustly stop activities by 2025 as a result of the imposed nitrogen agreement can now take action to discuss their file. That is what Flemish minister of agriculture Hilde Crevits (CD&V) agreed on Wednesday. "The intention is to examine each file thoroughly," explained Crevits. "Then we will look together whether or not adjustments need to be made."
The nitrogen agreement signed by the Flemish government before the spring break claims that 40 farms with the given "code red" or the so-called "biggest polluters" must stop their activities by 2025. Of the 58 companies on the list around 18 of them already started in a buyout arrangement, but not all the marked companies agree with the drastic measures.
In recent days and weeks there has been a lot of discussion about the list of companies, for example about the abbey of Averbode. At the beginning of April, that farm received a letter from the Flemish Land Agency (VLM) that it must stop by 2025, but the farm had been given an orange code in 2014 with the message that it could expand if it would make a number of interventions.
The company invested heavily and, according to the abbey. Efforts were made to improve animal comfort and reduce emissions. The fact that after a recalculation in 2015 the abbey was only informed by telephone, and therefore not by letter, is described as "a strange way of working" by the Flemish minister for environment Zuhal Demir. Opposition members claim the Averbode story is symbolic of the "inhumane" way in which the Flemish government treats farms.
(AS)
© Belga Photo Daniel Leal