Noorderzijlvest is ending the pilot in which the mowing paths were allowed to be drawn up as a landscape element under the eco-regulation of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). This means that it is no longer possible to borrow mowing paths from the water board. The executive board of the Noorderzijlvest Water Board has come to this conclusion after evaluating the pilot that started last year. The rules that the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) implements have now been tightened. This means that individual user agreements are now required. This takes a lot of time and capacity and does not sufficiently outweigh the benefits for the water board.
Intended win-win situation
The advantage for the water board was mainly in being able to use plots of farmers (with permission) to carry out maintenance on the water board’s waterways. This could then be done with wider (and safer) equipment. The pilot shows that some farmers have given permission for this and that the added value for the water board is therefore too limited.
Mowing paths
Farmers who used the scheme were allowed to designate mowing paths from the water board as a landscape element in order to qualify for subsidies for sustainable and future-proof agriculture provided by the RVO. Consequences of the new situation At the start of the pilot, in March 2023, a verbal agreement was still sufficient according to the RVO. With the tightening of the rules, agreements must be made with each individual farmer about compensation for borrowing the mowing paths.
This must involve demonstrable extra-legal consideration. In addition, it is necessary to test whether there is state aid when borrowing the mowing paths. Making, reporting, maintaining, evaluating and developing all these individual agreements requires too much time and capacity.
Possible follow-up However, the Noorderzijlvest water board will work with the sector to investigate what possible options are for 2025 and the years thereafter within the currently applicable rules.
Tags: Water board mowing paths Common Agricultural Policy CAP
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