Linke on agriculture

The Left wants to secure access to farmland for those who actually work it. An agricultural structure law is to cap land prices and prevent land concentration, and share deals — buying stakes in farm companies to acquire their land — are to be banned.

The Left wants farmers to get land more easily. A new law should limit land prices. Outside investors should not be allowed to buy farms through company shares. The state should buy land and lease it to young farmers.

According to the platform, non-farming investors buy up farms through share deals and drive up land prices. An agricultural structure law with price limits is meant to counter this, along with a statewide ban on such share purchases. Land held by the federally owned BVVG is to be permanently exempt from privatization. A well-funded public land fund is to buy land and lease it long term on public-interest terms, especially to young farmers and people starting farms. Ownership and land transactions are to be made transparent.

The Left wants to secure higher producer prices for farms and strengthen regional supply chains. Public institutions should be able to give preference to regional and sustainable food, and the market power of the big supermarket chains is to be curbed.

The Left wants farmers to get fair prices. Daycare centers, schools and hospitals should be able to buy food from the region. Big supermarket chains should no longer push prices down so hard.

New procurement rules are to make it easier for cafeterias, daycare centers, schools and hospitals to buy regional and sustainable products. Fair prices and transparency are to apply along supply chains. Unfair trading practices are to be stopped and price pressure from food retailers contained. Programs for regional cooperation and marketing are to receive support. The platform argues that only adequate prices make greener farming possible.

The Left wants to move livestock farming toward humane and regional structures. It wants to fund barn conversions, end very large slaughterhouses and export-oriented meat production, and use the Bundesrat to push for caps on herd sizes.

The Left wants animals to be kept better. Farmers should get money for better barns. Giant slaughterhouses should end. There should be a maximum number of animals per farm.

Barn conversions are to be funded along the lines of Thuringia's approach. Public money is to be tied to environmental and social standards and to humane animal husbandry. A Bundesrat initiative is to bring about caps on herd sizes. In the party's view, husbandry standards should be set democratically rather than by large supermarket and discount chains, whose influence is to be limited. The platform sees low producer prices and a lack of investment security as obstacles to better barns.

The Left wants to raise the share of organically farmed land from around 10 to at least 30 percent. In addition, farming is to be adapted to climate change, land consumption reduced and biodiversity promoted.

The Left wants much more organic farming. Its share should rise from 10 to 30 percent. Soil should stay fertile and be built over less. Wild bees should get more places to live. A fund should help farmers after climate damage.

Support is planned for humus build-up, diverse crop rotations, hedges, tree rows, flower strips and agroforestry. A protein strategy is to increase legume cultivation and cut feed imports. Through the Bundesrat, the party wants to launch a multi-risk fund for climate-related damage. Irrigation would be allowed only where it is ecologically acceptable and needed for food security; drinking water takes priority. A state fund is to help municipalities and owners unseal paved surfaces. There would also be support for conversion, processing and marketing in organic farming, plus a special program for wild bees.

The Left wants to simplify application procedures for farms and commit funding for several years at a time. At the same time, subsidies are to be reliably tied to animal welfare, environmental, climate and social standards.

The Left wants less paperwork for farmers. Applications should be simple and digital. Funding should be promised for several years. The money should be tied to rules for animals, the environment and workers.

The platform describes complicated applications and short-notice changes to funding conditions as a burden for many farms. Bureaucracy costs are to fall markedly and support programs are to become simpler. The programs are to be aligned with clear state goals. Applications should be possible in a fully digital, simple and transparent way.