WHY IS THE FLEMISH GOVERNMENT BUYING MORE AND MORE AGRICULTURAL LAND ?
- WWHISPER
- Mar 24, 2023
- 2 min read
" Since 2019, the Agency for Nature and Forests (ANB) has bought 4,268 hectares of land, a third of which is agricultural land. In 2022 it doubled the figures op 2019, according to the data requested by Vlaams Belang party leader Chris Janssens from environment minister Zuhal Demir. By buying up agricultural land, the government is "increasingly turning out to be the enemy of the farmer and the countryside", according to Janssens.
The Nature and Forest Agency has been buying up more and more land in recent years. In 2019, it was still 724 hectares, of which 232 hectares were farmland. In 2022, that doubled to 1,429 hectares, of which 464 hectares were agricultural land. In total, the Flemish government bought 1,427 hectares of agricultural land in four years, a third of all land purchases.
The land acquisition budget also went up sharply in recent years. In 2015, the total land purchase budget was almost 10 million euros. "Under Minister Demir, this budget rose to 41 million euros in 2020. In 2022, it went as high as 67.5 million euros. This is more than six times more than seven years ago," Janssens said.
According to Minister Demir, the purchase of agricultural land for the realization of nature reserves is "not the driving force" of the high purchase prices. But according to Janssens, this is not entirely correct. "In February 2023, the ANB in Lichtervelde bought 30 hectares of agricultural land at an average price of €113,400 per hectare. The average land price for West Flanders farmland is 77,300 euros. Thus, the Flemish government paid 47 per cent more than the land value."
Vlaams Belang calls it "particularly cynical" that farmers are finding it increasingly difficult to find agricultural land while the government itself is buying up plenty of agricultural land. "The government should just make sure that our farmers are protected and unfair competition is avoided, but with its bullying policy it is itself part of the problem," Janssens concludes.
Zuhal Demir wants to close 40 farms for allegedly failing to meet nitrogen standards. She also wants to impose even more murderous conditions on farmers through all sorts of manoeuvers incorporated in the nitrogen agreement. Meanwhile, her cabinet is buying up more and more farmland, at the expense of those same farmers who already have a hard time buying farmland and who have no chance against the Flemish government because Demir is paying 47% more than the land value.
What diabolical agenda is behind this ?
It is very reminiscent of a certain Bill Gates who has also bought up thousands of hectares of farmland in the United States that is not being farmed.
This phenomenon has been happening since 2010. In 2015, the European Economic and Social Committee issued an advice on the worldwide mass buyout of farmland, which is however not being followed or at least not by the governments in Belgium and the Netherlands.
In addition, we must also question the double face of Flemish agriculture minister Brouns who allows Colruyt Group to also buy up agricultural land en masse without responding to the committee's request to grant preemption rights to farmers. The retail chain is said to have already bought 175 hectares by now. Moreover, Colruyt would also like to draw on European agricultural subsidies intended for farmers.
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