Julia Klöckner (CDU) has big plans: "More environmental protection, more sustainability and animal welfare." With the agriculture strategy 2035, the Federal Minister for food and agriculture aims to create the Basis for climate - and environmentally-breeding more strategies in Agriculture and livestock.

The common agricultural policy (CAP) is the EU matter and 58 billion euros in annual funding - about 40 per cent of the total EU budget - the largest chunk of agricultural large-scale factories, with Around 20 percent of businesses receive 80 percent of the EU subsidies.

That's about to change: Germany has the EU presidency for six months. And in a year's Bundestag elections are held. The Green will be traded as a party in government. So what could be better than to make now is already green policy, as it calls for Martin Häusling, agricultural policy spokesman of the Green party in the EU Parliament: "We don't have to run agriculture so that they destroyed our resources of soil, water and biodiversity. We need to pursue climate justice. This means fewer animals, a waiver of the harmful mineral fertilizer and insects harmful pesticides, more build-up of Humus, less mono-cultures."

The Organic farming EU-wide by 2030 from the current five to 25 percent increases. "From-the-farm-on-the-plate" (Farm-to-fork) is the name of the European strategy for the future for a more sustainable diet. dw/K. Jäger, Leonhard Palm had malice because he relied on "organic". Today, daughter Andrea works in the operation with

The German farmer Leonhard Palm angry for a long time about the requirements of the EU: "The subsidy policy is unfair. Organic farming, geared to quality in product and environmental protection, can't keep up."

The threat of farms

And smaller companies not. A study of DZ-Bank, click a massive shutdown of farms: currently 267.000 farmer could remain until 2040 100,000 left stations in Germany.

an organic Farmer Palm has reliable support of wife, sister-in-law and daughter Andrea as a master gardener for vegetable production on the farm in Bornheim in the Rhineland. In addition, seasonal workers from helping in the family business, but: "A day laborer mentality has become widespread." So the Romanians from a day on the walls of the other, had no knowledge of the German language, nor a driver's license. Palm mourns the loss of the former Polish harvest helpers: "they were reliable and well-trained. But Poland are no longer available." dw

EU-Green-Agricultural-expert, Martin Häusling calls in the DW-interview: "We need to offer the young Generation of farmers to good local and regional marketing opportunities for organic products, the good prices." The processing structures have to be decentralized again. That means: less consumption of resources, transportation of milk, animals, fruits and vegetables, even beyond national borders, for short chains and regional trade delivery.

farmer Palm drives in this respect: He has bigger customers, operates a farm shop, daughter Andrea serves customers in Bio-weekly markets. And about "My harvest" offers Palm self-sufficient smaller spaces to individual agriculture.

EU leaders, and agricultural technicians Häusling comes from a family operation, managed according to organic guidelines, and he followed the same approach as Palm: "In principle, we need to put on much more differentiated agricultural structures. Specialization makes it vulnerable, diversity makes stable. This applies to the climate as well as economically."

a pioneer in Organic farming

Leonhard Palm advance is injected the Bulk of its industry light-years: in 1988, after teaching in a so-called conventional operation, he turned on the family farm due to health reasons, "bio": "when I plant protection product, I got very strong headache. And running more pesticides not to use, in order to reap more and more revenue, the works forever."

Palm decided to cauliflower, radish, broccoli, and an Arugula plant. However, there were no reports of cultivation without the use of chemical Mace. Only since the invention of pesticides whose use is Standard in the so-called "conventional" agriculture. The field is growing, as Leonhard Palm wanted to use it, was for centuries nothing more than"organic" And brought the intention to act environmentally friendly, it is sometimes to despair: "Sometimes I came in crying from the field, because the seed came up, the pests, the plants attacks. Nothing grew except for unwanted Weeds."

And not only that, at that Time, the Rhine country recalls that he was an outsider, from colleagues, excluded and defamed. Bitterness resonates from his words.

plowed land as our ancestors?

during which an employee is wearing a Hack to the field. "We have to constantly remove the unwanted Weeds between the crops, by Hand or by machine. This is very time-consuming, but the right road," said Leonhard Palm. Mass, the bioland believes the host is not the meaning and purpose of agriculture.

For members of the European Parliament Martin Häusling are Organic farming, agro-forestry, a combination of trees and arable crops, and permaculture is essential: "The methods are modern and sophisticated, ecologically adapted cultivation. This has to do with the Farming of our ancestors, nothing more. And you can make this in small scale farms or in large economic structures. What is important is that ecologically it is adapted it makes."

The environmental consciousness increases ceaselessly. The result of studies of the research Institute for organic farming . "Our customers, the Knowledge of the regional origin, the absence of genetically engineered seed, personal contact with the producers is very important," has Andrea's experienced Palm.

A customer of Emanuel Walter. About the Association "My harvest," he rented in the spring of 45 square meters of Land of an organic Farmer Palm: "at First, I found the tiny plantlets, the aroused but joyful expectation." Meanwhile, Walter is proud of the fact that he attracts even tomatoes are high in eggplant, fennel and Swiss chard "daring" - all without chemical additives". Crouching, he examined his plants to injurious insects and foul brings beastly end, self-suspended nettle manure: "The is as a fertilizer and for the control of aphids very effectively."

Walter has a degree in agricultural Sciences, but that had been theory. "I want to act sustainably, get 1A-food, self-produced. A pleasure," he argues, while he abzupft rich green, serrated leaves: "This is Arugula, spicy taste and is very crisp." Most recently, his girlfriend, and he feeds exclusively from the own harvest.

New quality of life through gardening

Rebecca Luyken had long dreamed of a garden Plot. "From a friend I heard in the March of "My harvest," and this type of Gardening. Since the outbreak of the Corona-pandemic, I'm working from home", describes their Situation: "Now I come out, and it's another thing to dig into the depths of the earth than on the balcony."

Luyken initially believed to know nothing. Now the Social Media Manager for the fire and the flame: "When we come home the finger nails black, her hair disheveled, the pants dirty. I'm really done, and it was a beautiful evening on the field." Gardening has become the perfect antithesis to the work.

Even with the plants the customer has Rebecca Luyken, and in the case of "My harvest" advice: "It is very interesting, what are the plants in the neighborhood that there are hierarchies of how big the plants are."

Not the least of the 70 leisure gardeners formed on the field of an organic Farmer Palm is a great community, raves, the Rhinelander. "At the Moment, I didn't feel the need to travel, because the garden fills me, and I'm hanging right at my plants."

author: Karin hunter

In the FOCUS Online/Wochit In the

*The post "European Commission: agriculture is published to produce good food," from Deutsche Welle. Contact with the executives here.

Deutsche Welle

Date Of Update: 17 August 2020, 05:27