Agriculture in Europe must become more environmentally friendly, which is the goal of the new EU agrarian reform. The transition to carbon-free farming was discussed the other day in the Federal Council of Germany. On the eve of the meeting, it became known that farmers engaged in organic farming will face a reduction in subsidies.

In practice, it turns out that the agricultural sector is "taking a step back" on the road to cleaner production. According to the chairman of the board of directors of the Bund Ökologische Lebensmittelwirtschaft, Alexander Gerber, organic farms will be in a worse position. The state association for organic farming in Bavaria also calculated that if a new regulation of the Federal Council is adopted without amendments, organic farms will receive less funds in the future. According to the head of the association Hubert Heigl, this "will significantly slow down this production of organic agricultural products in Germany." And ÖDP's Agnes Becker, pioneer of the popular Save the Bees initiative, says: "The goal of reaching 30% organic farming by 2030 will be unattainable."

What the EU agricultural budget is criticized for

Proponents of organic farming are negative about the distribution of about 387 billion euros from 2023 to 2027. The Common European Agricultural Policy (CAP) is based on two levels. All farmers receive direct payments from the first tier, the so-called allowances per hectare of sown area. Another area funded by the EU is agro-ecological programs such as the Bavarian Cultural Landscape Program (KULAP), which also supports organic farmers. Increasingly, the initiators of the agrarian reform, which will take effect on January 1, 2023, are criticized.

Subsidies to be cut for organic farms

The new EU regulation of agricultural subsidies stipulates that part of the direct payments, that is, a surcharge per hectare of sown area from the so-called first tier of the agricultural budget, will be paid only if farmers provide eco-services. For example, do not use pesticides for a year. Since organic farms do this anyway, and the purchase of agrochemicals is partially offset, in practice, double funding is obtained.

Future payments for area: base payment plus organic regulation

Farmers in the EU have been receiving payments per hectare since 1992. From 2023, it will be 285 euros in Germany. However, if you want to receive the full amount in the future, you must provide Eco-Schemes services. The so-called environmental friendliness of production means growing agroforest crops, observing crop rotation and multi-production, that is, producing several crops, or avoiding pesticides on spring crops. Farmers will be given the right to choose. If you do not use greenhouse schemes, the area surcharge is reduced to € 60–65 per hectare, while the base surcharge remains at around € 220.

Farmers' and organic associations call for a revised donation approach

So far, Bavarian organic farmers have received an additional € 273 per hectare, excluding EU budget support under the KULAP cultural landscape program. But in the future, it will be difficult for them to obtain Eco-Schemes funds, although most farms do not use pesticides. The rest of the requirements for the allocation of subsidies are difficult to comply with in practice. For example, how can you diversify your dairy farm's crop rotation if only cover crops are grown?

The greener the less subsidies?

According to the Bavarian Farmers' Association, the new subsidy scheme is also affecting many traditional farmers and KULAP members, taking measures to protect the environment. The reason is the same - double subsidies. The fact is that KULAP also provides financial support to its members for the transition to more ecological production. Therefore, the Farmers' Association is calling for changes in agricultural policy, that is, for more attractive and diversified proposals in the promotion of organic farming.

The Bavarian Ministry of Agriculture refers to the criticism of the ban on double funding. The CAP regulations, already passed by the previous government in the Federal Cabinet in November, are based on the resolutions of the Conference of the Ministers of Agriculture of the Federal Länder. In addition, the resolutions were also coordinated with the coalition, which at that time was not yet in power, and approved the main provisions. Thus, the responsibility for the implementation of the EU agricultural reform at the national level cannot be shifted to the former Minister of Agriculture Julia Klöckner.

Target: 30% organic farming by 2030

The new Federal Minister of Agriculture, Cem Ozdemir, found himself in a difficult situation from the first days of his tenure. On the one hand, the department must ensure that as many farmers as possible switch to environmentally friendly products.

According to the coalition agreement, organic farming in Germany should be 30% by 2030, while this figure does not exceed 10%. On the other hand, Ozdemir must demand adherence to organic farming rules in order to achieve greater biodiversity and climate protection. The Bavarian Farmers' Association demands: "It is very important that the measures are economically attractive to farmers and can be implemented in practice." And the Naturschutzbund Deutschland NABU criticizes the government for not having enough money to incentivize farmers to manage environmentally sound.

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