SPD on agriculture

The SPD wants to orient EU farm policy toward the common good and pay farmers far more for what they do for nature and the climate. Organic farming is to be funded so that Thuringia first reaches its 10 percent target and then the national 30 percent target.

The SPD wants to change subsidies for farmers. Those who protect nature and the climate should get much more money. Organic farming should grow. First to 10 percent in Thuringia. Then to 30 percent.

The public-goods bonus developed by the German Association for Landcare is to be tested in Thuringia within the EU's eco-schemes and applied if suitable. The mid-term review of EU farm policy is to be used to examine funding tools and change or replace them as needed. Money from the EU's rural development fund is to be geared toward more organic farming and low-intensity land use such as grazing bonuses, agroforestry and careful use of floodplains and peatlands. Also planned are a grazing-animal bonus for species-rich grassland and support for building up humus and rewetting peatlands.

The SPD wants to actively prevent speculation in agricultural land. Compensation for built-on land is to become binding and no longer come mainly at the expense of farmland. The goal is that, on balance, no additional land is sealed.

The SPD wants to protect farmland. No one should speculate with land. Speculating means buying land only to sell it at a higher price. When land is built on, other land should be freed up. Farmland should no longer be lost for this.

According to the platform, agricultural land enjoys special protection by society. Land consumption is to be compensated on a binding basis across the state, without continuing to draw mainly on farmland. The SPD names the use of fallow and contaminated sites and the unsealing of surfaces as the key measures. This is meant to achieve net-zero soil sealing in the coming years.

The SPD wants to substantially strengthen farmers' position vis-à-vis food retailers and make realistic producer prices possible. Regional economic cycles are to be promoted through value-creation centers and shared infrastructure.

The SPD wants to make farmers stronger against supermarkets. Farmers should get fair prices. More products from Thuringia should be sold locally. Farmers should share storage and processing sites. Local slaughterhouses should stay open.

Value-creation centers in local supply regions are to connect, advise and train farmers. Shared facilities for processing, storage, distribution and disposal are meant to make Thuringian products more available locally. The SPD wants to stop the loss of infrastructure such as slaughterhouses. Traditional forms of land use such as migratory shepherding and forest grazing are to be specially rewarded. Young farmers are also to be supported in training and in starting a farm business, and smart farming, meaning digitally assisted agriculture, is to be funded.

The SPD wants to substantially reduce pesticide use and support farms in this with money and scientific guidance. Fertilizers, especially mineral fertilizers, are to be reduced as well.

The SPD wants fewer pesticides on fields. Farmers should get money and advice for this. Fertilizer use should also go down. Especially artificial fertilizer.

Pesticides are to be applied in a more targeted way and on more tightly limited areas. Conventional farming is to have alternative tools so that food production stays reliable and environmentally sound. On fertilizer, the SPD aims for a closed nitrogen cycle with the most efficient use possible. It wants to critically examine using more farmland for biofuels, energy production or technical carbon capture.

The SPD does not rule out growing genetically modified plants from the start. It argues that agriculture has to respond to changing climate conditions in order to maintain its yields.

The SPD does not say a flat no to genetic engineering in plants. The climate is changing. Plants must cope with drought and heavy rain. New technology can help with that, the SPD says. It wants to look at the matter carefully.

The program names lack of rain in spring and heavy rain in summer and early fall as new challenges. In the SPD's view, methods such as CRISPR/Cas could make green genetic engineering an important factor for Thuringia's agriculture. The party announces a careful weighing of the issue. In addition, variety research, conservation breeding and the practical application of findings are to be expanded.