MAGDEBURG (dpa-AFX) – The consultations of the federal and state agriculture ministers on the challenges in agriculture and the effects of the war in Ukraine began on Thursday afternoon. “At a time that is first dominated by Corona and then by the Ukraine crisis, it is important to face the problems with the utmost responsibility and to strive for common solutions,” said the chairman of the conference, Saxony-Anhalt’s head of department Sven Schulze. the German Press Agency. The aim must be to position agriculture and forestry as an indispensable part of society for the future and to advance them.
Against the background of the Ukraine war and concerns about a global food shortage, a major issue will be the temporary increase in production capacities in Germany. The CDU politician Schulze and also Bavaria’s Minister of Agriculture Michaela Kaniber (CSU) recently called for the use of so-called ecological priority areas for all of agriculture. However, Federal Minister of Agriculture Cem Özdemir (Greens) only wants to release the areas for animal feed use.
Özdemir also made it clear that even in the tense market situation as a result of the Ukraine war, he insists on restructuring agriculture towards more climate and environmental protection. Again and again, farmers complain about increased requirements due to climate regulations. For others, such as environmental organizations, the current course does not go far enough.
The spring conference was actually supposed to take place in Magdeburg. Due to the number of corona infections, the ministers had to switch to the virtual format. The results of the deliberations will be presented on Friday. Several protests were announced in connection with the conference of agriculture ministers./wee/DP/mis