Ministers press for end of direct farm payments within EU

Two German government min-isters are pushing for an end of direct farm payments within the European Union.

Instead of monies going to agriculture, they want the cash to be spent on environmental protection and promoting nature.

The German Environment Minister Steffi Lemke and Agriculture Minister Cem Özdemir also want the EU to boost organic production.

According to EURACTIV Germany, Ms Lemke said: “In future, it must be profitable to farm in a way that preserves nature and agriculture.”

Mr Lemke said Germany will be actively involved in attempting to ensure public money is only spent on public services from 2028.

“We have to abandon the system of flat-rate area payments,” he insisted.

Germany has yet to submit its Common Agriculture Policy plans to Brussels for next year despite the deadline having passed on January 1, though is expected to do so next month.

The two ministers, both members of the Green party, said they would be working together on a range of matters, including a reduction in the use of pesticides within the EU.

Ms Lemke said: “Pesticides not only affect the living creatures for which they are produced but also harm biodiversity.”

Özdemir said, as Agriculture Min-ister, it was his intention to turn organic farming into the leading sustainable agriculture model and promote it.

Under the coalition agreement that formed the German government, it was agreed to raise the national target for organic farming from 20 to 30 per cent of the total farmland by 2030.

However, Mr Özdemir said the same target – a rise from 20 to 30 per cent – would apply to the share of organically produced food in overall consumption.

Ms Lemke said the new government wanted to “strengthen farmers in their role as climate protectors”.

A new action programme to be drawn up early this year will aim for the rewetting of peatlands, encouraging nature to return to floodplains, and using forests and soils more effectively for carbon farming.