BSW on agriculture

The BSW wants to guarantee farms a buyer for regional products and have public institutions buy regionally first. This is meant to secure fair prices and act as a counterweight to free trade deals such as Mercosur.

Farmers in the state should be sure to sell their products. Public bodies should buy from them first. That keeps money in the region. New advice offices should help farmers with applications.

The program treats agriculture as essential to the economy and as a defining feature of the state. State-run competence centers are to advise farm and forestry businesses locally and take over part of their application paperwork. In the party's view, free trade agreements put price pressure on domestic farms.

The BSW wants a state strategy against erosion and loss of humus, along with careful use of water in agriculture. Soil-friendly farming methods, diverse crops, research, and knowledge transfer are to be supported. The party rejects glyphosate.

The BSW wants to protect farmland soil. There should be a plan for the whole state. Hedges and many kinds of crops should keep the soil stable. Water should stay in the land better. The BSW rejects the weed killer glyphosate.

The strategy is to support ground cover, catch crops, hedges, field margins, permaculture, and agroforestry. Organic farming and crops such as flax, spelt, or hemp are meant to strengthen biodiversity and resilience to climate impacts. Because of increasing drought, the platform relies on modern irrigation and retention systems that secure groundwater and reduce flooding. Storage, transport, and energy supply are to be modernized. Researchers, farms, and municipalities are to work closely together.

The BSW wants targeted support for small and mid-sized farms. Regional processing and marketing are to be expanded, including through purchases by public institutions in the region. The platform treats agriculture as a public task.

The BSW wants to help small and mid-sized farms. They should get funding and simpler rules. More food should be sold in the region. Public canteens and offices should buy locally too. This gives farms reliable customers.

These farms are to get fair market conditions, less administrative work, and funding. Farm shops, artisanal processors, and community-supported agriculture are meant to strengthen local cycles and reduce dependence on world markets. Regional procurement by public institutions is to open up reliable sales channels. The platform's stated goal is to strengthen agriculture as part of public services and secure food sovereignty.

The BSW wants to reduce farmers' reporting duties to a minimum and roll back official requirements on cultivation. Farms are to decide on crop rotation and catch crop harvests themselves. EU rules are to be adapted through state law for small and mid-sized farms.

Farmers must write many reports for the authorities. The BSW wants to cut these duties sharply. Farmers should decide for themselves what to grow and when. Counties should help farmers with reports. EU rules should become easier for small farms.

Decisions on crop rotation and the timing of catch crop harvests are to be made without official compulsion, based on good professional practice. The BSW rejects requirements for food production and consumption that the platform regards as dogmatic or impractical, saying they threaten livelihoods. Offices at county level are to actively help farmers meet reporting duties. The platform considers the effort required by EU rules often unreasonable for small and mid-sized farms.