The government will have to make savings next year; billions of euros are at stake. The coalition had been negotiating for weeks about where the cuts could be made. Then it was clear: the red pencil should be applied to climate protection, among other things, to the promotion of electric cars and solar energy. And German farmers should also make their contribution with around one billion euros. The subsidies for agricultural diesel and the current exemption from motor vehicle tax for agricultural vehicles are to be eliminated.
The powerful German Farmers’ Association doesn’t want to accept that and called for a large demonstration in Berlin. Thousands of farmers came with their more than 1,500 tractors, which completely blocked the road to the Brandenburg Gate.
Federal Agriculture Minister Özdemir is booed
When Agriculture Minister Cem Özdemir (B90/Greens) steps onto the stage near the Brandenburg Gate, he is greeted with boos. “Get lost!” shout the protesters. The Green Party’s agriculture minister doesn’t have an easy time with farmers. Most of the around 300,000 members of the German Farmers’ Association traditionally think rather conservatively.
Federal Minister of Agriculture Cem Özdemir (right) next to farmers’ association president Joachim RukwiedImage: Fabian Sommer/dpa/picture alliance
Özdemir wants to ensure that things don’t turn out as bad as planned. “I don’t believe in the cuts on this scale,” explains the Green politician and promises: “That’s why I’m fighting in the cabinet to ensure that it doesn’t happen to this extent.” But he barely gets through. The farmers chant loudly, “Traffic lights gone.”
Farmers angry at the government
Tim Noelle also joined the protest march. The 23-year-old is disappointed with politics; took a 17-hour tractor ride from the North Rhine-Westphalian community of Lüdenscheid to express his displeasure. “I’m angry with the traffic light government. We’re not the nation’s milk cow,” he said in an interview with DW. The farmers are already being fleeced everywhere. Noelle comes from a family of farmers and runs a small agricultural service company.
Farmers are not the “milking cow of the nation,” criticizes young farmer Tim NoelleImage: Volker Witting/DW
Starting next year, the subsidy for agricultural diesel for his machines and tractors will be canceled. So far, farms have been able to get almost half of the price per liter of fuel refunded from the tax. “In addition, the tax subsidies for the vehicles will no longer apply. For me that amounts to between 250 and 800 euros per year per vehicle,” says Noelle. The tax-exempt vehicles are easy to identify. In Germany they have a green license plate instead of a black one.
“This kind of government support is needed, otherwise the agricultural industry will not survive,” farmer Birgit Locher told DW. She comes from a town on Lake Constance, where she farms pigs, farms and grows hops. “Agricultural diesel is subsidized in almost all EU member states. And we should no longer receive this support? Too much is simply too much. We won’t put up with that!” Birgit Locher also points out that animal welfare and environmental standards in Germany are constantly being expanded. “That costs extra.”
Farmer Birgit Locher is committed to preserving farmsImage: Volker Witting/DW
Farmers’ President Joachim Rukwied also sharply criticizes the traffic light coalition because of the planned abolition of tax breaks for agriculture: “We won’t accept it. It’s too much. We’ll take on the fight.” Farmer President Rukwied’s speech received a lot of applause and a loud honking concert in front of the Brandenburg Gate.
Environmental groups welcome the removal of subsidies
How could things continue now? Federal Agriculture Minister Cem Özdemir wants to support the farmers, he promised at the demonstration in Berlin. And Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) also said in an interview: “I am open to alternatives.”
Tractors block the streets in the German capitalImage: Volker Witting/DW
Environmental associations such as Greenpeace, on the other hand, believe that eliminating the subsidies is the right thing to do. Agricultural diesel is harmful to the climate. For this reason alone, this subsidy should be abolished, said Greenpeace agricultural expert Martin Hofstetter.
The environmental association believes that farms will not die. The economic situation in German agriculture has improved significantly over the past two years. The average profit of the companies rose to a record level of 115,400 euros – an increase of 45 percent compared to the previous year.
In the event that politicians cannot agree to leave everything as it is, farmers’ president Rukwied announced further protests throughout the country. In that case, the “hot January” is coming, the association president threatened: “Then from January 8th we will be present everywhere in a way that the country has never experienced before.”