Linke on agriculture

The Left wants collective wage agreements everywhere and reliable social protection for workers in farming, forestry and fishing. Seasonal workers, too, are to get a minimum wage above the poverty line and social insurance.

The Left wants better pay in farming. Union wage agreements should apply everywhere. Seasonal workers should also have social insurance. They should get a wage that protects them from poverty.

The platform cites insecure incomes, gaps in social protection and difficult working conditions in these industries. Family members who work in the business are to get social protection. All workers are to be reliably insured for old age, illness and accidents. The state forestry agency is to get more staff and fair pay.

The Left wants to support regional processing and marketing of farm products and limit the market power of large retail and processing corporations. In the platform's view, regional supply chains secure local incomes and affordable food.

The Left wants to strengthen food from the region. Local businesses should process and sell it. Big corporations should have less power. Farmers should get fair prices.

Regional slaughter and processing facilities are to be expanded and re-established. Cafeterias and other communal catering are to rely more on regional products. The platform calls for fair supply relationships, effective antitrust law and pricing that starts from producer prices. Regional marketing initiatives are to be supported and a reliable regional label introduced.

The Left wants to extend organic farming to at least a quarter of farmland and significantly reduce pesticide use. Farms are to be paid for what they do for animal welfare and for climate, nature and environmental protection.

The Left wants more organic farming. At least a quarter of the fields should be organic. Farmers should use fewer pesticides. Those who protect nature and animals should get paid for it.

Buffer strips along waters are to be widened, combined with tougher rules on fertilizer and pesticides. The platform wants to combine ecological goals with social security and support farms in switching to sustainable production. Domestic standards are to be protected against imports the platform describes as unfair.

The Left wants an agricultural structure law against speculation in farmland and wants local and young farmers to get priority when land is allocated. Livestock farming is to be shifted to high standards in a socially acceptable way. According to the platform, land is a basis of life and not a commodity.

The Left wants to limit speculation in farmland. Speculation means buying land to sell it at a higher price. Local farmers and young farmers should get land first. Animals should be kept in better conditions.

The state's right of first refusal for land of particular environmental importance is to be broadened and also granted to recognized conservation organizations. Animal transports are to be limited and checked more strictly. Livestock numbers are to be tied to available land; there are to be no new facilities that the platform considers oversized. Pasture-based livestock farming is to get targeted support, also to help meet conservation goals.

The Left wants to preserve and further develop both commercial and recreational fishing in the state. Because ecological and economic conditions are changing, the program relies on sustainable use of waters and new prospects for fishers.

The Left wants to keep fishing alive in the state. This covers professional fishers and anglers. Fishers should get new ways to earn money. The waters should be protected while doing so.

The program describes fishing as part of regional identity. Sustainable programs such as "Sea Ranger" are to be expanded. New sources of income are to be developed for coastal fishers. The Left also wants to support sustainable aquaculture, meaning the farming of fish and other aquatic animals.