Erfurt (dpa/th) – As part of a nationwide day of action, farmers from Thuringia also drew attention to problems with the leasing of land. Farmers from the working group for rural agriculture (AbL) demonstrated on Friday with tractors and banners in front of the town halls in Erfurt, Jena, Weimar, Mühlhausen, Gotha, Eisenach, Bad Langensalza and Apolda for the public interest leasing of public areas, as the association announced. They demanded transparent and fair leasing of agricultural land.
Farmers complain that public land is mostly leased to the highest bidder. From their point of view, holdings and agricultural investors are systematically strengthened and farms are disadvantaged. Rents are relevant for farmers because they only own about 40 percent of the land they cultivate in Germany. Lease prices and purchase prices have risen significantly in recent years.
The main action of the nationwide campaign was also in Erfurt. According to the AbL, a municipal working group has already revised the leasing process here in order to lease land in the future for the common good. Representatives of AbL Mitteldeutschland presented Mayor Andreas Bausewein (SPD) with a gift basket containing products from farms near Erfurt.
The managing director of the AbL Thüringen, Reiko Wöllert, handed over the AbL catalog of demands in Bad Langensalza to Mayor Matthias Reinz. At the same time, other farmers handed over the list of criteria to the city leaders in more than 30 cities across Germany.
