While farmers in many parts of Germany suffered enormously from the drought this year, the grain harvest in the north-east was above average. But the joy about it is clouded by the energy prices at the state harvest festival.
Schwerin/Ferdinandshof (dpa/mv) – Despite the heat and drought, the farmers in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania brought in an above-average harvest this year, but are not free of concerns in view of inflation and high energy prices. Before the state harvest festival on Sunday in Ferdinandshof (Vorpommern-Greifswald district), Agriculture Minister Till Backhaus (SPD) called for a fairer distribution of the burden of the crisis in favor of rural areas.
The rescue package planned by the federal government with 200 billion euros to dampen electricity and gas prices is to be welcomed. But further measures are necessary. “The rural area, especially in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, supplies the country with clean energy through solar systems, wind power and biomass. But the local people rarely benefit from this,” complained Backhaus. Residents of rural regions in northern Germany in particular have had to pay an above-average amount for electricity to date due to high grid fees.
Backhaus called for an overall higher appreciation for rural regions. “Where do the big cities get their food from? From rural areas,” said the SPD politician. The reliable supply of food is often taken for granted, but it is not. “Behind the full supermarket shelves are hard work and entrepreneurial risks,” he emphasized. At the same time, Backhaus promoted a more conscious approach to food. While more than every tenth person is starving worldwide, around 18 million tons of food go into the garbage in Germany every year, much of it still edible. “It’s a scandal,” Backhaus said.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture, 4.1 million tons of grain and 781,000 tons of good-quality rapeseed were harvested in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania this year. The average grain yield was 76.7 quintals per hectare, 12.9 percent above the average for the years 2016 to 2021. The rapeseed yield, at 40.6 quintals per hectare, was even 25.2 percent above the long-term average. However, the yields varied greatly from region to region.
However, farmers fear that government restrictions on the use of fertilizers and pesticides will result in reduced yields. They are therefore opposed to guidelines from Brussels intended to better protect nature and to plans to implement them in the country. For example, farmers complained about the fertilizer ordinance in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and brought it down. A new regulation is in the works, but according to the ministry, it will further tighten the rules in accordance with EU requirements.
