Green Week
Survey: Sentiment among farmers has improved
Flags of the International Green Week fly at the entrance to the trade fair in Berlin. After a forced break of two years, the Green Week will reopen to visitors on Friday. photo
© Christoph Soeder/dpa
What is the situation with agriculture at the moment? And what are the prospects for the future? In any case, the mood index has risen significantly.
According to a survey, the mood among farmers has brightened. At a Green Week press conference in Berlin on Thursday, Farmers’ President Joachim Rukwied warned of uncertainty among farmers with regard to long-term developments. The currently good mood is a snapshot.
In the agricultural economic and investment barometer, the sentiment index rose from 8.4 to 14.9 points. According to the association, this level was last reached in mid-2021. Rukwied emphasized that there were already index values of 37 – that was at the end of 2013. “That puts this increase into perspective,” said the association president. The barometer is compiled quarterly on behalf of the German Farmers’ Union.
Larger investment volume
The question about the current situation was rated significantly more positively than the question about the assessment for the next two to three years. According to Rukwied, this is due to the good sales development in the past financial year, and the equipment was also significantly cheaper there. The financial year for farmers always ends on June 30th.
According to the barometer, the planned investment volume for the next six months is around 5.8 billion euros – compared to 5.0 billion euros for the first half of 2022. Of this, 1.7 billion euros each go to commercial buildings (2022: 1.4 billion euros) and machinery and equipment (2022: 1.7 billion euros). A strong increase in planned investments in renewable energies from 0.8 to 1.4 billion euros is striking.
Rukwied emphasized that the markets are currently very unstable and making planning difficult for farmers. “If you buy fertilizer today, it can be the wrong time,” said Rukwied – after all, the prices could be significantly lower again tomorrow. Prices for grain also went up and down, “depending on which message hits the ticker”.
Özdemir: “Grow or give way” has had its day
Federal Minister of Agriculture Cem Özdemir is also relying on a more targeted orientation of state subsidies for the change towards more animal and environmental protection in agriculture. The long-preached “grow or give way” of previous governments is just as obsolete as the watering can principle, said the Green politician on Thursday before the opening of the Green Week agricultural trade fair in Berlin.
Long-term ecological and climate services would be rewarded in order to appreciate the contribution of agriculture and forestry to the challenges facing society as a whole. Planning security is also ensured during the change.
Özdemir related this “green thread” of his policy in the next few years to the billions in EU agricultural funding for the farms. An income-generating system is needed that moves away from flat-rate payments based on area and instead, wherever possible, more precisely rewards public services. “The direct payments in their current form are a phased-out model.”