AfD on agriculture

The AfD treats owner-run and family farms as the model for agriculture and wants to give them more entrepreneurial leeway instead of oversight. The nitrate monitoring network is to be made much larger and more representative so that fertilizer restrictions are less burdensome.

The AfD wants to support farms owned by families. Farmers should be freer to decide for themselves. There should be more places that measure nitrate. Nitrate is a substance from fertilizer in groundwater. This should mean fewer strict fertilizer rules for farmers.

The platform backs integrated crop management: pesticide use is to fall to what is necessary thanks to training and technology, soil-friendly methods are to be funded, and modern breeding methods used. Manure-based fertilizer is to be given more weight, for which the AfD demands practical rules. The best soils are to be reserved for producing agricultural commodities. On nitrate, the party argues that a patchy monitoring network burdens farms and leaves regulations legally vulnerable. The state's agricultural research institutions are to be kept and linked more closely with private research.

The AfD wants to deliberately rebuild slaughter facilities in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern so that animal transports become shorter. Higher animal welfare standards are to come only with economically workable transition periods and be reflected in the prices farmers receive.

The AfD wants more slaughterhouses in the state again. Then animals do not have to travel so far. Farmers should get time to switch to better barns. Farmers should get higher prices for that. The AfD rejects slaughter without stunning.

According to the platform, much slaughter capacity in the north has disappeared, leading to longer transports that burden both animals and farmers. The party regards short distances as animal protection and as a way to keep jobs and value creation local. Red tape is to be cut, and hygiene rules should not hold back smaller businesses. The AfD rejects ritual slaughter without stunning.

The AfD wants the state to be able to intervene in the farmland market through rights of first refusal in order to limit concentration among a few owners. Land is to go preferentially to farms from the region, and young farmers are to get more support.

Farmland should not belong to a few big owners. So the state should be allowed to buy land first. Land should go mainly to farmers from the area. Young farmers should get more help.

The platform targets owners who often have no connection to farming. Sales and leases are to go first to farms whose owners or operators live locally. Young farmers and founders are to receive more support when taking over or starting a farm. The state, as the largest landowner, is to play a more active role in this.

The AfD wants to help producers register regional specialties for the EU's origin labels. The state label "Natürlich aus MV" (Naturally from MV) is to become visible everywhere in retail. The rural bioeconomy is also to grow as an industry.

The AfD wants food from the region to be better known. Producers should get help applying for an EU label. The label protects the name from copies. The sign "Natürlich aus MV" should be seen in more stores.

The platform points to the EU's protected designation of origin and protected geographical indication, which it says have so far gone unused in the northeast. Possible candidates it names include Mecklenburg rib roast, Rügen soft cheese, sea buckthorn products, and fish specialties. Joining the state label is to be made easier, and farming, food crafts, and retail are to organize marketing together. Through the bioeconomy, meaning raw and building materials from agriculture, farms are to open up new markets without being constrained by mandated targets.

The AfD commits to gillnet fishing in coastal waters and relies on research and cooperation with fishers rather than bans. State-owned waters are to be leased exclusively to fishers from the area.

The AfD wants to keep fishing in the state. Fishers should still be allowed to use gillnets. These are nets that stay fixed in the water. Only fishers from the area should lease the state's waters.

The platform sees fishing on the coast and lakes as part of cultural identity. The AfD wants to coordinate on this with the other affected states. Catch quotas for commercial and recreational fishers are to balance economic and ecological requirements. The party rejects nationwide tenders for leases, and processing and marketing of local fish products are to receive more funding.