(corrects that the organic areas are not released for the cultivation of feed, but that only the growth on the areas may be used as feed)
BERLIN (Reuters) – Federal Minister of Agriculture Cem zdemir wants to allow around 1.2 million hectares of so-called ecological priority areas to be used for the supply of animal feed in order to mitigate the rise in animal feed prices as a result of the Ukraine war. The Greens politician announced on Friday that the growth on these areas would be released as fodder. Plants grown on fallow or catch crop areas are not normally used, but have to be plowed under to improve the soil. Programs for more energy efficiency and renewable energies in agriculture should also be de-bureaucratized. 48 million euros are expected to be available for this this year. This also benefits consumers, as increased energy prices contribute to rising food costs.
At EU level, zdemir also wants to advocate exceptions to the rule that has been in effect since 2022, that animals in co-farming may only be fed with organically produced feed. This requirement is difficult to implement due to the loss of kofutter from the Ukraine.
zdemir indirectly rejected demands from the agricultural sector to move away from the obligation to set aside four percent of arable land from 2023. “Everything we put off today will be punished twice or three times tomorrow,” zdemir explained. “Food security and resource protection are mutually dependent.”