PdF on agriculture

The PdF wants to raise the tax refund on agricultural diesel and give farmers a tax-free diesel allowance. The aim is to lower farms' costs and make them more competitive.

Farmers pay tax on diesel for their machines. The PdF wants them to get more of it back. A set amount of diesel should be fully tax-free. Machines that use other fuels should also bring tax benefits.

The platform cites an existing relief of 25.56 cents per liter and wants to increase it. On top of that, farms would get a tax-free amount scaled to, for example, the area farmed or production volume. Investments in machinery running on biogas, e-fuels or hydrogen would also receive tax advantages. According to the PdF, this would reduce dependence on fossil fuels.

The PdF wants to legally require supermarkets to pass on unsold food. It also wants to subsidize plant-based alternatives and reduce the share of meat in communal catering to benefit health and the environment.

The PdF wants less food to end up in the trash. Supermarkets should have to give away leftover food. Plant-based food should get money from the state. Cafeterias and schools should serve less meat.

According to the platform, about 12 million tons of food are thrown away in Germany each year. Besides the obligation for supermarkets, platforms and apps that rescue food are to be supported. Plant-based alternatives are to be promoted through subsidies and programs and partly replace meat in communal facilities. Farm projects using low-emission and regenerative methods and incentives for farmers to switch are also planned.

The PdF wants to invest in regional production chains to make Germany less dependent on food imports. Cooperatives and regional processing centers are meant to give producers a larger share of the value created.

Germany buys a lot of fruit and vegetables from abroad. The PdF wants more food from the region. Farmers should be able to team up. That way they should earn more for their goods.

The program points to the pandemic and the war in Ukraine, which it says exposed the vulnerability caused by high import shares; more than half of fruit and vegetables come from abroad. Farmers receive only 20 to 30 percent of the retail price, it says. Building cooperatives is meant to ease their access to markets and bring higher earnings. Processing centers in the regions would strengthen local networks for production and marketing.

The PdF wants to restructure farm subsidies so that 30 percent of farmland is organically managed by 2030. It also calls for stricter rules on keeping livestock and a state fund to help farmers pay for better housing systems.

The PdF wants more organic farming. By 2030, 30 percent of farmland should be organic. Stricter rules should apply to keeping animals. The state should give farmers money for better barns. Small farms should get special help.

According to the program, intensive farming harms the environment, biodiversity, soil and water, while farmers face competition from countries with lower standards. Investment grants are meant to ease the switch to organic farming and the purchase of modern equipment. An animal welfare fund would financially support the move to better housing systems. Small and mid-sized farms that sell regionally would get their own funding programs along with advice and technical help, for example for precision farming.

The PdF wants to back cellular agriculture, meaning the production of meat and dairy without conventional livestock farming, through research programs. It cites animal welfare, environmental protection and Germany's competitiveness as reasons.

Meat and milk can also be made from cells. This does not need animals in barns. The PdF wants to support research on this. It says this helps animals and the environment.

In the program's view, the technology greatly reduces the burden on the environment and animals and uses natural resources more efficiently. Support would come through research and development programs. This is also meant to secure Germany a position in what the PdF considers a market of the future.

The PdF wants the EU to supply more of its own staple foods and inputs such as fertilizer. Domestic production would be promoted and remaining imports spread across more supplier countries. The platform points to the experience of the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia's attack on Ukraine.

The PdF wants the EU to produce its own food. This covers basic foods and fertilizer. The EU should support local farmers. What the EU must buy should come from many countries. This should prevent shortages in a crisis.

According to the platform, recent crises disrupted supply chains and sharply raised prices for grain, fertilizer and other farm products. European agricultural policy should therefore be geared toward self-sufficiency. This includes expanding regional farming and supporting new agricultural technologies. Where imports from non-EU countries remain necessary, broader trade relationships are meant to lower the risk of shortages.