Brabant will invest an additional €27 million in Agricultural Nature and Landscape Management (ANLb) over the next three years. This will give more farmers the opportunity to apply nature and landscape management on their farms. This amount is in addition to the existing provincial contribution of €6 million per year.

Reward for nature-friendly management

The Agricultural Nature and Landscape Management (ANLb) is a scheme that rewards farmers for nature-friendly management on their land. Nature-rich farmland is an important habitat for amphibians, insects, butterflies, birds, mammals, and bats. There are various measures that help farmland birds, such as mowing later or leaving parts of the land undisturbed so birds can feed and breed there. Farmers can apply for ANLb subsidies for these measures. The subsidy can also be used to maintain cultural-historical landscape elements. Examples of landscape elements include nature-friendly banks, pollard willows, ponds, ditches, hedgerows, rows of trees, and duck decoys.

“It is good news that, thanks to the contribution from the national government, more money is available for agricultural nature management,” says Hagar Roijackers, deputy for Nature, Environment and Rural Area Approach. “The commitment of farmers to a healthy rural area and the improvement of biodiversity (The variety of life in a particular area) is important. These forms of management lead to more biodiversity, an attractive landscape, and a better living environment for people and animals.”

Cooperation strengthens nature management

In Brabant, we work closely with four agricultural collectives for the ANLb. They coordinate the management and make agreements with participating farmers in their own working area. The additional contribution ensures that the collectives can involve more farmers in nature management. The expansion is made possible thanks to a national investment from the government.

With this structural investment, we strengthen the cooperation between agriculture and nature, and work on restoring biodiversity, water and climate goals, and the development of agricultural nature.

We have been working for a long time to strengthen biodiversity on farms. Read more about this in the article Growth in cooperation and ambition (refers to another website)