Germany's Federal Minister of Agriculture, Alois Rainer (CSU), says farms hit by drought and other problems are facing a "massive crisis of national significance." This year's harvest has been a "bitter disappointment" for many farming families, Rainer said on Wednesday as he presented his ministry's harvest report. He held out the prospect of financial help for farmers.
The Federal Ministry of Agriculture expects a grain harvest of 37.4 million tonnes this year. Measured against the average for the years 2020 to 2025, that represents a decline of 2.1 percent. Yield per hectare, however, edges up by 0.4 percent to 69.1 decitonnes.
According to the report, the severe drought had a particularly negative effect on the maize harvest. The expected volume is 16 percent below average, while yield per hectare falls by 24.2 percent. The sugar beet harvest is coming in well below average, the ministry also said. The area under cultivation shrank by 16 percent, according to the harvest report, and yield per hectare is down by around seven percent compared with the five-year average.
Fruit presents a mixed picture. The apple harvest, by far the most widely grown tree fruit, is expected to fall by five percent against the ten-year average. Cherries and plums, by contrast, show markedly higher yields. Asparagus and hops both record clear declines.
This is not just about "tonnes or hectares," Rainer said. "The decisive question is not only: how much was harvested? The decisive question is: what condition are our farms in today?" Alongside drought and dry conditions, he pointed to high operating input costs, driven above all by diesel prices. The aim now, he said, is to avoid a "structural break" so that harvests in the coming years are also secured.
The CSU politician announced that the liquidity assistance programme run by the Landwirtschaftliche Rentenbank will be topped up by 300 million euros, taking the total loan volume to 500 million euros. He is also in negotiations with the Federal Ministry of Finance over a further support programme, Rainer said. "It is about nothing less than food security in Germany."
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