There are three major tasks that the new Federal Minister of Agriculture, Cem Özdemir, has to solve. They are vital tasks, and not just for the farmers, many of whom are struggling for economic survival, but for everyone in the country. Every person needs intact nature and its ecosystem services to live.
The first is: How can food be produced in such a way that biodiversity is protected in the process? The second: How can agriculture make its contribution to climate protection and help to reduce carbon? And finally: How do you guarantee farmers fair prices for their products so that farm dying comes to an end?
A vision of how all of this could succeed cannot be found in the coalition agreement, and it would be very surprising if the Green minister himself brought one into office – although until recently he himself did not know that the foreign or Transport policy would be his field, but animal welfare and peasant suffering.
But that is exactly what could be an opportunity. After all, there is a lot of preparatory work for the upcoming reforms: the reports of the scientific advisory board on animal husbandry and nutrition and the results of the two commissions that met during the time of Agriculture Minister and predecessor Julia Klöckner (CDU). In one of these, animal rights activists and agricultural representatives have worked together to find a way to improve animal husbandry.
And in the other, which Angela Merkel had called under the impression of the farmers’ protests in Berlin, environmental and agricultural associations have jointly agreed on a new model – away from world markets and towards more sustainable agriculture. This commission was not headed by an agricultural expert, but by an old Germanist: the former President of the German Research Foundation, Peter Strohschneider. He stepped between the divided camps from outside and asked about the problems openly and impartially. This is probably what contributed to the success.
Its members were disappointed that the implementation of their results was not expressly announced in the traffic light coalition agreement. But Cem Özdemir announced exactly that in one of the first interviews after his nomination. He wanted to “work through” the results of the commissions. And see how the different interests from agriculture, animal protection and environmental protection are brought together. It also helps that the farmers get financial support for the conversion, because he knows that more animal welfare and fewer pesticides cost money. He also wants to work in Brussels for a better agricultural policy.
This is necessary because the coalition agreement calls for a 30 percent share of organic farming, but with the new Brussels agricultural subsidy, which Julia Klöckner helped shape, this goal will be difficult to achieve. The other goals of the coalition agreement give hope, however: there should finally be a binding animal husbandry and a comprehensive label of origin. In future, the animal populations should be based on the area of the farms. Less antibiotics should be used and there should be more requirements for animal transports outside Europe. If Cem Özdemir can handle all of this, it would be a good start.
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