Cuts in agricultural subsidies are driving farmers onto the streets. But ultimately it is about structural change. The agriculture ministers of the federal states have expectations of the federal agriculture minister.
The chairwoman of the Conference of Agriculture Ministers, Thuringia’s department head Susanna Karawanskij (Left), sees the federal government as having a greater duty than before to support structural change in agriculture.
“Sustainable agriculture doesn’t come for free. We need the right financial incentives for this,” Karawanskij told the German Press Agency in Erfurt before the start of the federal and state agriculture ministers’ conference. The farmers’ association has announced protests and rallies in front of the conference hotel until Friday.
Karawanskij said she expects Federal Agriculture Minister Cem Özdemir (Greens) to outline at the meeting how he imagines the future of agriculture and how this will affect the federal government’s medium-term financial planning. A first step is the relief package for agriculture, which the Federal Minister announced before the Federal Council meeting on March 22nd. She hopes “that suggestions will come to the table.”
The chairwoman of the Conference of Agriculture Ministers described the sum of 250 million euros that the federal government wanted to make available annually to support structural change, especially for improvements in animal husbandry, as too small. “There is dissatisfaction, not just among the farmers.” According to them, the agriculture ministers will, among other things, consider how the labeling requirement for animal husbandry can be implemented on meat packaging.
The main issue, however, is reducing bureaucracy in agriculture. The farmers’ association had stated that it expected decisions from the ministers on this matter. According to Karawanskij, the federal states have made a large number of proposals that now need to be evaluated for a list of priorities. She left open what decisions could be expected on Friday. Unlike other specialist ministerial conferences, the principle of unanimity applies to the agriculture ministers.
Source: Stern
