Dutch farmers are again taking to the streets to protest plans to shut down up to 3,000 farms.

THE European Union has approved The Netherlands’ plan to buy out thousands of farmers in a bid to halve the country’s nitrogen emissions by 2030.

Almost AU$2.3b, €1.47b, has been set aside for the plan, which will take the form of direct grants to compensate up to 100 percent of the losses incurred by farmers who decide to close, in particular relating to the loss of production capacity and of production rights. The site has to have certain minimum levels of nitrogen deposition load per year.

The plan was last year expected to close up to 3000 farms.

In a press release, the EU said The Netherlands’ plans supported its Green Deal and stood have a positive impact on the environment.

“The €1.47 billion Dutch schemes we approved today will facilitate the voluntary closure of livestock farming sites with substantive nitrogen deposition on nature conservation areas,” said Margrethe Vestager, the EU’s executive vice-president in charge of competition policy

“The schemes will improve the environment conditions in those areas and will promote a more sustainable and environmentally friendly production in the livestock sector, without unduly distorting competition.”

Dutch farmers have been strongly opposed to the nitrogen legislation, taking to the streets in the masses and blocking supermarket distribution centres with tractors.

The protests were partly credited for the success of the pro-farmer BBB party, otherwise known as Farmer Citizen Movement, which managed to take the majority of seats in the Dutch provincial elections earlier this year – and now has a big say in the senate.

A recent report from Al Jazeera said the party supported the compensation of farmers who want to leave, but it was firmly against the nitrogen measures.

“It is like they are criminals, it is like they are doing something bad when they produce food,” BBB leader and former agriculture journalist Caroline van der Plas told the television report.

BBB campaigned on fighting against the nitrogen legislation and is expected to put pressure on the Government, who is pushing forward with the plan.

Other legislation moving

Many other counties have been legislating targets to cut agricultural emissions, including Ireland cutting methane emissions by 25pc and New Zealand introducing the infamous “burp tax”.

Both countries have elections soon and the methane legislation are set to be hot topics.

Similar legislation is about to be put forward to the Australian Government, according to an article in The Australian this morning.

The article said a branch of the Australian Labor Party, called the Environment Action Network, has gained the support 150 branches to put forward a bill to halve emissions from agriculture and end native forest logging and land clearing at the party’s national conference in August.

National Farmers’ Federation has warned against campaigns that lack research and credibility.