Thousands of farmers gathered in central Holland on Wednesday to protest the Dutch government’s plans to reduce nitrogen oxide and ammonia emissions by driving their tractors across the Netherlands and crashing into major motorways. The protest erupted earlier this month after the government announced national emission reduction targets, sparking outrage among farmers claiming a livelihood – and the thousands of people working in the agricultural sector – on the line. Calling it an “inevitable transition”, the government has called for emissions reductions of up to 70% in many places close to nature reserves and up to 95% in other places. The government was forced to act after courts in recent years began blocking permits for infrastructure and housing projects because the country did not have its emissions targets. Early in the afternoon, many arrived in a lush field in the small rural village of Stroe, about 70 miles (45 miles) east of the capital, Amsterdam, where a stage was set up for speakers to speak to the crowd and music was heard from loudspeakers while children bounced on a giant inflatable pig. Farmers sounded the horns of their tractors as they drove to the field, where a banner on a truck read in Dutch: “What The Hague chooses is very sad for the farmer”, a reference to lawmakers in the city that houses the Dutch parliament. Another banner on a tractor read: “We can no longer be stopped.” The National Infrastructure Authority urged motorists to delay the trip, as slow-moving tractor junctions ignored calls not to use highways as they drove to the protest. In The Hague, several dozen farmers and their supporters, some wearing T-shirts with the text “No farmers, no food”, gathered for a breakfast early Wednesday before heading to protest. “This is where the rules come in,” said dairy farmer Jaap Zegwaard, who parked his tractor on the edge of a city park. “I was asked to come here and have breakfast to show that we are food producers and not pollution producers.” The ruling coalition has allocated an additional 24.3 billion euros ($ 25.6 billion) to fund changes that are likely to make many farmers drastically reduce their livestock numbers or get rid of them altogether. The plans, which are to be implemented by provincial governments, have even been opposed by members of Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s own party and other members of his coalition. Provincial governments were given one year to formulate plans to achieve the reduction targets. A government lawmaker, Tjeerd de Groot, wrote on Twitter that he planned to attend to discuss the plan with farmers, but cut short his trip on the advice of a government security service. “Does the tractor law apply in our country?” wrote on Twitter. Agriculture is a key sector in the Dutch economy, with exports worth almost 105 billion euros last year. But it has the cost of producing polluting gases, despite the fact that farmers are taking measures to reduce emissions. Zegwaard said farmers were ready to talk about how to reduce emissions, but objected that the industry bears most of the responsibility. “Now the agricultural sector is being dismissed as a major polluter and that is not right,” he said.
