It could have been a simple solution: the federal and state agriculture ministers could have agreed on Thursday to suspend the set-asides that will apply from January 2023.
But now it looks as if German farmers will not be able to cultivate around four percent of their arable land in the coming year, although the need is great due to the Ukraine war, expected crop failures and the resulting nutritional problems.
The EU Commission has expressly proposed to the member states to stop the upcoming set-asides and also to allow exceptions in crop rotation. “We German farmers have absolutely no understanding that the overdue decision to suspend the decommissioning has not been made,” says Joachim Rukwied, President of the German Farmers’ Association.
“That means no food production on at least 200,000 hectares. We regret that the farmers’ offer was not accepted and, above all, that it knowingly aggravated the tense supply situation.”
At the digital special summit of agriculture ministers, the countries could not agree. Federal Minister of Agriculture Cem Özdemir (Greens) also did not clearly support the proposal to suspend land set-aside. The problem: time is ticking because farmers need planning security for sowing.
Özdemir’s politics have long been a thorn in the side of the five East German agricultural associations. Instead of doing his duty to strengthen the economic sustainability of the companies, he brings them into disrepute. “We clearly criticize the fact that the responsible ministry intends to restrict the areas under cultivation for animal feed or the production of agrofuels in the future.”
In a joint statement, the five associations complain that politics in Germany has been stuck in a never-ending stalemate for far too long regarding the preparation, submission and approval of the national strategic plan by Brussels. The Federal Ministry of Agriculture is causing a clear lack of understanding among agricultural companies regarding the implementation of the common European agricultural policy from the application year 2023.
The Federal Ministry of Agriculture has at least announced flexibility in crop rotation, according to Rukwied. And if the obligation to set aside is lifted, areas such as perennial flower strips, waterside strips and landscape elements are not affected. In any case, they would be preserved, according to the farmer’s president.
“How should we explain to starving people that we will not till four percent of the arable land from 2023,” asked Lower Saxony’s Agriculture Minister Barbara Otte-Künast (CDU) in the “Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung”.
In a protocol statement, Lower Saxony, together with eight other federal states, called on the federal government to implement the EU Commission’s proposals one-to-one. In Lower Saxony, around 70,000 hectares could continue to be used for agriculture if the decommissioning was not carried out. With a yield of six tons per hectare, this corresponds to a grain yield of up to 420,000 tons.
On July 22, the EU Commission proposed the exceptions for 2023 at the request of some member states. An estimated 1.5 million hectares of agricultural land could be farmed more. The Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development gives the reason: “Every tonne of grain produced in the EU helps to improve food security around the world.”
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