CDU on agriculture

The CDU wants to push at federal level for farmers to be paid through certificates for storing CO2 in the soil. In Saarland, an advisory office is to help farms cope with climate change.

Soil can store the gas CO2. The CDU wants farmers to get money for that. There should also be an advice office. It helps farmers deal with hot and dry summers.

The platform names humus build-up and the use of biochar as ways to store CO2. Payment is to come through certificate trading. The advisory office "Landwirtschaft im Klimawandel" (farming in a changing climate) is to be housed at the chamber of agriculture or the responsible ministry. The CDU points to the double pressure on farms from climate requirements and noticeably hotter, drier summers.

The CDU wants Saarland's cafeterias to use regionally produced food as exclusively as possible. It also wants to strengthen nutrition and consumer education, especially in schools.

The CDU wants more food from the region. Cafeterias should use local food as much as they can. Rest stops should have vending machines with products from farmers. Children should learn more about healthy eating at school.

The goal is to be pursued together with cafeterias at universities, in companies and in public administration. At highway rest stops, the CDU wants vending machines through which farmers can sell their products directly. The platform justifies nutrition education in schools by saying eating habits are formed early. The networking offices for school meals and senior nutrition are highlighted as important contributors.

The CDU backs family-run farms, whether conventional or organic, and wants a much higher compensation payment for naturally disadvantaged land. Funding for organic farming is to be kept or expanded depending on demand.

The CDU wants to strengthen family farms. It does not matter if they are organic or not. Almost all fields in Saarland are hard to farm. Farmers should get more compensation for that. Valuable meadows should stay.

According to the platform, 96 percent of farmland in Saarland counts as naturally disadvantaged. Support for organic farming is to follow demand for organic products, and the CDU wants to avoid competition between farming methods. Farms should find it easier to convert only parts of their operation to organic. Grassland valuable for nature conservation is to be preserved, while other grassland may be put to different use in individual cases with little red tape. The CDU wants a fair balance of interests through dialogue among farming, hunting, forest owners and conservation groups.