Like Agriculture Minister Piet Adema on Tuesday, Meijer denies the talks have broken down. “The conversations continue,” he says. ‘An agreement has not yet been reached and this is disappointing. But we just need more time to reach an agreement. We’ve had solid and good conversations over the last couple of days.’
‘I’m confident. Otherwise I wouldn’t invest time in all these conversations’
For Meijer and the NAJK, it is important that a farm deal pays enough attention to farm takeovers, where typically young people take over a farm from their parents. “There are all kinds of tax exemptions and it is important to us that these exemptions remain or even be expanded.”
It’s not easy to have money left over for sustainability after a capital-intensive acquisition, he says. “If you take over your parents’ business, you often have to provide them with a pension and a house. These are additional costs with no increase in turnover. This means that the capital to invest in sustainability is shrinking.’
However, Meijer thinks that he, along with the other parties, can reach an agreement. ‘I’m confident. Otherwise I wouldn’t invest time in all these conversations.’