Although Germany had to endure long periods of heat again this year, crop yields have increased. Cem Özdemir (Greens) nevertheless calls for more climate-friendly agriculture.
Despite a better grain harvest, Agriculture Minister Cem Özdemir (Greens) described this year’s harvest report as a “warning” and “testimony of the climate crisis”. “Acting now is essential and existential,” said Özdemir on Friday in Ditzingen, Baden-Württemberg, at the presentation of his ministry’s 2022 harvest report.
According to Özdemir, anyone who brakes the climate-friendly restructuring of agriculture is not a friend of farmers in this country, but their declared opponent.
The report shows that independent production and self-sufficiency must be strengthened, the agriculture minister said. An essential lever lies in becoming less dependent on mineral fertilizers, which are produced in an energy-intensive manner and are dependent on Russian gas. All in all, the harvest report has both good and bad news: While there was a lack of water in some places, the harvest in other places was good or very good.
According to the Department of Agriculture’s harvest report, farmers harvested about 39.7 million tons of grain from the fields in 2022. That is 4.8 percent more than in the previous year and 1.6 percent more than the average of the last six years. The highest increases were recorded in Schleswig-Holstein and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. By far the largest decline in harvests was in Bavaria. The figures for grain maize, whose yield is estimated to be about a fifth lower, were not included.
The farmers’ association also reported a slightly larger grain harvest on Tuesday than in the previous year. According to the association’s figures, however, the quantity including grain maize was below the average of recent years. Farmer President Joachim Rukwied had said that the grain harvest was now quantitatively somewhat better than last year – but the quality of the wheat in particular left a lot to be desired.
Source: Stern
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
