AfD on agriculture

The AfD wants to reduce regulations and red tape for farms and rejects current agricultural policy at the EU, federal and state levels. It also calls for protection against farmland and farms being bought up.

The AfD wants fewer rules for farmers. It thinks farm policy from the EU, the federal government and the state is bad. Fields and farms should not simply be bought up. The AfD wants to protect farmers from that.

According to the platform, regulations raise cost pressure and paperwork while farms are exposed to global competition and grow more dependent on subsidies. The AfD also rejects policy measures that reduce the variety of crop types. It demands effective protection against what it sees as a looming sell-off of land and farms. It wants to tackle nutrient pollution of water and soil together with land users and municipalities on a scientific basis, rather than blaming today's farming alone.

The AfD wants to increase support for grassland farming and the livestock it requires. The platform argues that grassland contributes to biodiversity and is a core part of an intact cultural landscape.

The AfD wants more support for meadows and pastures. Farm animals on this land should get more support too. The AfD says meadows and pastures help many kinds of plants and animals. They are part of the landscape in Thuringia.

The platform calls for expanding subsidies for grassland and for the livestock farming that goes with it. Burdens on farms and forestry businesses from power lines, wind turbines or the "Grünes Band" (Green Belt nature reserve) should be avoided. The AfD also calls for a fast, statewide broadband rollout, arguing that modern farming is increasingly digital.

The AfD wants to strengthen the regional origin of Thuringian farm products, including by bringing slaughterhouses back to the state and expanding mobile slaughtering. Barriers to selling Thuringian products should be removed; in this context the party criticizes the sanctions against Russia.

The AfD wants more food from the region. It wants more slaughterhouses in Thuringia again. Slaughtering on the farm should also happen more often. Then animals do not have to travel far. The AfD is also against the sanctions on Russia. Sanctions are trade bans against a country.

The platform names the return of slaughterhouses and more mobile slaughtering as ways to strengthen regional production and avoid animal transports. The AfD wants a mix of affordable and high-quality meat production and is concerned about declining livestock farming. Barriers to selling Thuringian farm products should be removed, which is one reason the party criticizes the Russia sanctions. It says it is open to alternatives such as community-supported agriculture and agroforestry.

The AfD wants to allow genetic engineering in farming only if harm to people, animals and nature can be ruled out. Genetically modified food and feed should be labeled.

The AfD wants strict rules for genetic engineering in farming. Genetic engineering means changing the genes of plants. First, experts should check carefully if it causes harm. Food made with it should carry a label.

Before any use, the platform requires a thorough assessment of the consequences for people and the environment. Genetic engineering must not reduce the diversity of varieties and seeds or make farmers dependent on large agribusiness companies. Modified feed and food, and products made from them, should be labeled. At the same time, the AfD wants to support agricultural research and says it is open to new technologies it considers useful.