BERLIN (dpa-AFX) – In view of the increased feed prices as a result of the Ukraine war, German farmers can use additional areas in summer to mow grass and other plants. As an exception, certain “ecological priority areas” will be released from July 1st, according to an ordinance by Federal Minister of Agriculture Cem Özdemir (Greens), approved by the Federal Council on Friday. In total, there are a good one million hectares that can now be used for forage or for animals to graze there. This is intended to mitigate the rise in feed prices for farms.
Özdemir said that the most effective card with the smallest ecological distortions is drawn with the balanced regulation. It is good that the Federal Council did not go as far as some people had asked for with changes to the ordinance. A complete release of cultivation and the use of plant protection products on fallow land would have significant negative effects on biodiversity. “We must not exacerbate the biodiversity and climate crisis now.” Hunger is already greatest when the climate crisis hits.
In view of the tense agricultural markets worldwide due to the war, the federal and state governments committed themselves to global food security. Germany also has a humanitarian obligation to contribute to global security of supply, according to the decision after consultations with Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) and the Prime Minister on Thursday evening.
The domestic food and agriculture come to “a strategic importance”. In this country, too, it is important to cushion the sharp rise in food prices. The states called on the federal government to exhaust the possibilities to consistently use the existing potential of agriculture.
In a supplementary declaration, seven countries stated that in the current situation, obligations to set aside arable land should be suspended, at least temporarily. It is also important to fully implement a decision by the EU Commission on the use of brownfield sites. Bavaria, Saxony, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, North Rhine-Westphalia, Saarland, Saxony-Anhalt and Schleswig-Holstein also demanded the use of pesticides and fertilizers./sam/DP/ngu