Press
The traffic light coalition has agreed on a relief package for farmers, but criticism remains. The farmers’ association is calling for greater involvement – and is not ruling out new protests.
Berlin – Despite the relief package that the coalition of SPD, Greens and FDP agreed on Tuesday, dissatisfaction among farmers remains high. Farmers’ Association President Joachim Rukwied has therefore announced that further protests against the federal government’s agricultural policy are not ruled out. “We reserve the right to hold further protests,” he said on Wednesday (26 June) in ZDF-“Morning Magazine”.
The agreed package provides for tax relief and less bureaucracy. The traffic light coalition reacted to the tractor protests by farmers at the beginning of the year. “As a coalition, we have agreed to launch a major relief package for farmers,” said FDP parliamentary group leader Christian Dürr.
Traffic light frustration at the farmers’ association: “We must give the young generation perspective”
Despite these measures, the farmers’ association criticised the package as inadequate. Rukwied emphasised: “The traffic light coalition has not delivered.” The agricultural package that has been agreed is “just a small package”. He called for further steps and a greater involvement of farmers in political decisions. “We must restructure agriculture, focus on knowledge-based innovations and give our young generation prospects,” said the association president.
The situation in agriculture is also the central theme of the German Farmers’ Day, which is currently taking place in Cottbus. According to Rukwied, the frustration among young farmers is enormous. He criticized the fact that the measures taken so far are not sufficient to keep young people in agriculture.
Relief package for farmers: Traffic light evaluates almost 200 proposals from the federal states
The relief package of the traffic light coalition includes several measures that are intended to strengthen the competitiveness of German agriculture. A central aspect is the reduction of bureaucracy. For this purpose, almost 200 proposals from the federal states were evaluated, such as daily News reported. The package also reportedly includes tax smoothing for income from agriculture and forestry. This measure is intended to enable farmers to better offset their income from good and bad years.
Another component of the package is additional support for grazing livestock on grassland within the framework of the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy. A change in the law is also intended to strengthen the position of farmers vis-à-vis retailers.
Farmers demand more say from traffic light coalition
The farmers’ protests at the beginning of the year were mainly directed against the expiry of diesel subsidies. The federal government had announced a cut in subsidies for agricultural diesel at the end of 2023, which led to great discontent among farmers. Some of the cuts have since been withdrawn, and the abolition of the subsidies for agricultural diesel has been extended to three years – but that is not enough for many farmers.
“We are not pursuing a confrontational course,” stressed Rukwied. “On the contrary, we are making offers and expect that the offers will be accepted and that things will be implemented together with us so that the younger generation has a future,” said the 62-year-old. The farmers’ association is calling on the government to take further measures and to involve farmers more in political decisions.
The implementation of the relief package will now be the responsibility of the federal and state governments. The Bundestag is expected to vote on it next week. (dpa/nak)
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