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The drought makes peasants to create, federal government promises emergency aid: with 150 to 170 million euros confederation wants to support farms that have fallen in distress due to drought. In addition, a similarly high amount will flow from households of Länder.
Climate research says: The likelihood of extreme wear conditions – drought, heat, thunderstorms with hail, heavy rain with floods – will increase in Germany even more frequently. How can underlying farmers, on or hand, arm m? We have asked: at a Agrarökonomenaus Berlin, a dairy farmer from Lusatia, a potato and cereal farmer AusNiedersachsen and a organic farmer from Berlin.
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Holger Hennies, 48, manages at Uetze between Hanover and Wolfsburg in a working group 600 hectares of cultivated area: mainly with potatoes, but also with wheat, barley, corn, sugar beet and onions. He keeps some pigs, too. He is vice-president of country’s Lower Saxony.
1. How bad did drought hit your farm?
It hurts us especially in cereals: we have harvested between 20 and 50 percent less than usual. The biggest losses were loss of wheat because it is on a surface that we cannot rain. There, a thick clay layer blocks access to groundwater.
We must not rain as much as we need.
We must not, however, rain as much as we need. We are competing with waterworks, and drinking water supply is more important than agriculture. We may, in exceptional cases, exceed prescribed water quota to a certain extent, but this has not been enough this summer. Because potatoes, sugar beet and onions needed more water this year, cereals remained even less. And when it gets really hot, it also helps to rain: at 35 degrees, wheat is just ripe, even if grains are not yet large enough.
2. How must agriculture change in Germany in order to be better prepared for wear extremes and climate change?
In years like this, EU’s area payments are existentially for many companies. If y are tied to even more conditions, y could be left out for some companies. That would aggravate need. In addition, State should pay subsidies for water-saving irrigation technology.
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In addition, we need more risk prevention in order to better protect ourselves against fluctuations. There are insurance against hail and storm, but so far no against drought, because often it is difficult to say exactly wher dryness or own faults are responsible for damage. The state should create better conditions here. Or trades It is also possible to form a risk reserve. US yet.
3. What can you do yourself to better protect your business?
You have to grow plants that can withstand more. We have to look South: Maize is quite well away from dryness. But a pure maize does not go eir. Moreover, when you talk about extreme wear conditions, you also have to think about past year – it has rained far too much. Maize also suffers considerably.
Over last 30 years, it has rained on average more than before. However, precipitation is more irregular and not in time when plants need it most. We must refore grow more cultures with different harvesting points in future. For example, we harvest silver onions in July or August. The risk is lower than when you harvest everything in autumn.
This does not help, however, if large grocers push prices down despite scarce harvest. We also sell directly to end customers, because we can pass on higher prices. We are also looking for new sources of income. Toger with several colleagues I build a windmill.
4. Do you find emergency aid now decided right?
Yes. Some farms are in dire straits after two disastrous years, which need that. But in long term, we need to adapt to climate change and State should promote adaptation strategies.
