What do the parties say on agriculture?

The AfD rejects the EU's Common Agricultural Policy and wants farm policy decided in Germany. Farmers are to get more entrepreneurial freedom, and rules and paperwork are to be reduced step by step. The platform justifies this with the independence of farms and secure pay for farmers.

The EU makes many rules for farming. The AfD rejects this shared farm policy. Germany should decide for itself. Farmers should be freer to run their farms. There should be fewer rules.

The AfD wants farm subsidies geared to family farms and cooperatives and wants to make handing over a farm easier. Young farmers and people starting a farm are to be better off. Investors from outside agriculture are to find it harder to acquire farmland.

The AfD wants to strengthen family farms. Young farmers should get better conditions. People who start a new farm should pay less tax. Outside investors should find it harder to buy farmland.

The AfD wants consumers to learn more about the origin, contents and quality of products and calls for clear labeling. It rejects special taxes on particular foods such as meat or sugar, arguing that citizens should not be told how to consume. The EU approval of insects in food is to be reversed.

The AfD wants clear information on products. Shoppers should know what is inside. There should be no special tax on meat or sugar. Insects in food must be shown clearly on the package. The AfD wants to stop insects in food altogether.

The AfD wants to change current fertilizer rules so that farmers can again fertilize crops according to need. In the platform's view, today's rules reduce yields and harm the soil. The party supports research into new genomic techniques, but the use of genetic engineering in the field is to be strictly controlled.

Today there are strict rules for fertilizing fields. The AfD wants to loosen these rules. Farmers should give plants as much fertilizer as they need. The AfD supports research into new gene techniques. But on the field, the state should check gene technology strictly.

The AfD rejects additional restrictions on commercial fishers and anglers that it regards as ideologically motivated. Small fishing businesses should be able to survive economically. Catch limits are to be set pragmatically.

The AfD does not want new strict rules for fishers. Anglers should not get stricter rules either. Small fishing businesses should not go broke. Fish stocks should still last for the long term.

The BSW wants farm policy to be more national and regional in focus and to protect domestic producers from cheap imports. Farmers should get stable prices, for example through statutory minimum producer prices. The party rejects the Mercosur agreement.

The BSW wants to protect farmers in Germany. Cheap food from abroad should not push them out. Farmers could get fixed minimum prices. The BSW rejects the trade deal with South America.

The BSW wants environmental requirements to be set only together with farmers and with transition periods. Farmland should take priority and not be displaced by solar installations. An insurance scheme co-funded by the federal government would help against extreme weather.

The BSW wants to make environmental rules together with farmers. Farmers should get time to adapt. Fields should stay fields. The federal government should help pay for insurance against weather damage.

The CDU and the CSU want to bring back the full tax refund on diesel used in farming. Biofuels and synthetic fuels used in agriculture and forestry would be exempt from energy tax. The platform presents this as relief for farms.

Farmers get back part of the tax on diesel. This refund is being cut right now. The CDU and the CSU want to pay it in full again. Farmers should also pay no energy tax on biofuels.

The CDU and the CSU want to greatly simplify the EU's Common Agricultural Policy and reduce reporting and record-keeping duties for farmers. They want to block new EU obligations early on. Environmental goals would be reached through incentives rather than mandates.

Farmers have to fill out many forms and follow many rules. The CDU and the CSU want to cut this down a lot. The EU farm rules should become simpler. Farmers should get money for protecting nature. Nobody should force them to leave fields unused.

The FDP wants farm policy to focus more on farmers as business owners. Productivity and innovation are to take priority over subsidies, and rules and record-keeping duties are to be cut.

The FDP sees farmers as business owners. They should need less money from the state. They should have less paperwork. New technology and new breeding methods should help.

In food policy, the FDP relies on education, information and consumer choice. It rejects state rules on recipes and new levies, for example on sugar.

The FDP does not want a tax on sugar. The state should not tell companies how to make food. People should decide for themselves what they eat. They should get good information for this.

The Free Voters want farmland treated as an equally protected asset and want to prevent obligations to set land aside. When farmland is sold, owner-run farms would get priority, and the party opposes speculation with capital from outside agriculture.

Fields and meadows should be there for food. The Free Voters want to protect them better. Farmers should not be forced to leave land unused. When farmland is sold, farmers should get the first chance to buy.

The Free Voters want to allow fertilizing according to what plants need, including in so-called red zones with fertilizer restrictions. They reject a blanket EU ban on pesticides in sensitive areas.

In some areas farmers may use only a little fertilizer. These are called red zones. The Free Voters want to allow more fertilizer there when plants need it. The party rejects a general ban on pesticides in sensitive areas.

The Free Voters want imported farm products to meet the same standards as domestic ones. Competitive disadvantages against imports would continue to be offset through EU direct payments.

Germany has strict rules for farmers. The Free Voters want food from abroad to meet these rules too. Farmers should keep getting money from the EU to make up for disadvantages. No rainforest should be destroyed for imports.

The Free Voters want to reduce administrative and record-keeping duties for farms and to merge inspections. The uniform European rules should be the benchmark, and the states should use regional leeway when implementing them.

Farmers have to fill out many forms and are inspected often. The Free Voters want to reduce this. Germany should not make stricter rules than the EU. The states should be able to adapt rules to their region.

The Free Voters want to exempt agricultural diesel from tax and allow farms to be handed over without inheritance tax. A tax-privileged risk reserve would cushion income losses from natural and climate risks.

Farmers should pay less tax. Diesel for tractors should be tax-free. Anyone who inherits a farm should pay no tax on it. Farmers should be able to save money tax-free for bad years.

The Free Voters want to make agriculture more resilient through new breeding lines, practice-oriented research and digital technology. They reject patents on plants and animals and want to promote training in the agricultural professions.

The Free Voters want to support new plant varieties that cope better with the weather. Farmers should get good internet and free satellite data. There should be no patents on plants and animals. More young people should train for a job in farming.

The Free Voters want to secure livestock farming in Germany and provide financial support for investments in better husbandry conditions. They reject rules that push the production of animal-based food abroad. They also want to allow more organic fertilizer on grassland again.

The Free Voters want farmers in Germany to keep animals. Farmers should get money when they improve their barns for animals. Livestock farming should not move to other countries. More manure should be allowed on meadows.

The Free Voters want to improve farmers' position against food retailers and stop certain trading practices. According to the platform, four large corporations use their market power to push down purchase prices. Direct sales and regional processing should also be supported.

Four big companies sell most of the food in Germany. The Free Voters say these companies pay farmers too little. The party wants to ban unfair deals. Farmers should be able to sell their goods themselves more easily.

The Free Voters want to preserve commercial fishing on the coast and inland waters and provide targeted support for pond farming. They reject bans on angling. The platform sees fishing and angling as part of culture and tradition.

The Free Voters want to keep the job of fishers alive. Fish ponds should get funding. Anglers should be allowed to fish in many waters. The party rejects bans for anglers.

The Free Voters want less food to be thrown away. Best-before dates should count only as a recommendation, free-food shelves should be promoted, and effective crop protection products approved.

The Free Voters want less food to end up in the trash. The best-before date should only be a recommendation. There should be shelves with free food. Products against pests should be allowed.

The Greens want to ensure that GMO-free farming and food production remain possible. To that end, plants, animals, seeds and genes should not be patentable, and genetically modified products should be tested and labeled.

Many people want food without genetic engineering. The Greens want this to stay possible. No one should get a patent on plants, animals or genes. Food made with genetic engineering should carry a label.

The Greens want the EU's Common Agricultural Policy funds to be awarded from 2027 on the principle that public money pays for services to the public. The subsidies are to become the financial basis for protecting natural resources.

Farmers get a lot of money from the EU. The Greens want to change these rules from 2027. The money should pay for things that help everyone. One example is protecting nature and the environment.

The Greens want to strengthen farmers' position against processors and retailers. Across the whole food chain, buyers would have to pay prices that cover costs, and supply contracts would have to be written and binding.

Farmers should get enough money for their goods. The Greens want a new rule for this. Buyers must pay prices that cover the farmers' costs. Contracts must be in writing.

The Greens want to reshape livestock farming so that fewer animals are kept under better conditions. They justify this with falling meat consumption and want to keep funding barn conversions and extend husbandry labeling.

People are eating less meat. So the Greens want fewer animals in barns. These animals should have more space. The state should keep paying for rebuilding barns. More meat should carry a label showing how the animal lived.

The Greens want to give farms additional income, for example through solar installations on farmland, tourism, and plant-based building materials. Farms are also to get help entering markets for alternative and plant-based proteins.

Farmers should be able to earn money in new ways. One example is solar panels on fields. Another is vacations on the farm. Plants used as building material should help too. The Greens also want to support new foods made from plants.

The Greens want to reduce the use of pesticides and fertilizers. They plan a nutrient balance, implementation of the EU's Farm to Fork Strategy, and a levy on pesticides whose revenue can fund environmentally friendly crop protection.

Farmers should use less pest poison and less fertilizer. The Greens want a levy on pesticides. Pesticides are products against pests and weeds. The money should help gentler methods. Bees should also be better protected.

The Greens name organic farming and food production as their guiding model and stick to the goal of 30 percent organic farming by 2030. To get there, they want to implement the Biostrategie 2030 (organic strategy) and provide the necessary money.

The Greens want more organic farming. By 2030, almost a third of farming should be organic. The state should give enough money for this. Young farmers should find it easier to start.

The Left wants to curb the market power of slaughterhouse, dairy and retail corporations and build up regional processing and marketing. Minimum producer prices, tougher antitrust law and a farm structure law against land speculation are meant to secure farmers a decent income.

Farmers often earn too little. Big companies have a lot of power. The Left wants minimum prices for farmers. Farmland should not go to investors. More food should come from the region.

The Left wants to cut pesticide use at least in half by 2030 and ban glyphosate and neonicotinoids. Genetically modified crops should not be grown, and patents on life would be prohibited.

Farmers should use far fewer pesticides. Some, like glyphosate, should be banned. Plants with altered genes should not be grown. No one should get a patent on living things.

The Left wants to link the number of farm animals to a farm's land area and thereby reduce livestock numbers in Germany. The transition should be socially fair and serve animal welfare, climate and environment; less over-fertilization is meant to relieve water bodies.

A farm should keep only as many animals as its land can support. Then Germany has fewer farm animals. Animals should live better. Long animal transports should be banned. Very large meat plants should close.

The Left wants to ensure healthy, affordable food for all. Staple foods and plant-based substitutes would be exempt from VAT, with checks to make sure shoppers get the savings. Also planned are a state label, advertising bans for unhealthy food, and decriminalizing dumpster diving.

Basic foods should be sold without VAT. That makes food cheaper. A state label should show how good a food product is. Ads for unhealthy food should be banned. Taking food from store trash bins should no longer be a crime.

The ÖDP wants agriculture geared toward regional cycles rather than the world market. EU subsidies would be paid according to ecological, social and animal welfare criteria, and farms should be able to obtain higher prices.

The ÖDP wants farming for the region. Farmers should produce less for the world market. EU money should reward care for nature and animals. The size of the fields should no longer count. Farmers should get better prices.

The ÖDP wants to tax biocides and synthetic nitrogen fertilizer and ban certain neonicotinoids without exception. Genetic engineering would not be used in farming, and soils are to become healthier.

The ÖDP wants less poison on fields. Pest killers and artificial fertilizer should be taxed. Some insect poisons should be banned completely. Farming should not use genetic engineering. The soil should be healthy.

The ÖDP wants to raise the legal minimum standards for farm animals substantially. The plans include an EU-wide ban on cages, fewer animals per area, short transport distances and mandatory labeling of meat.

The ÖDP wants farm animals to live better. Cages should be banned in the EU. A farm should only keep as many animals as its land can support. Animals should travel only short distances to slaughter. Meat labels should show how the animal lived.

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 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.

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 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.

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.

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.

The SPD wants to reform farm subsidies. From 2028, under the EU's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), farms that protect the environment, species and the climate are to receive more money. At the same time, the rules are to become much simpler.

The SPD wants to hand out farm money differently. Farmers who protect water, soil and air get more. Protecting animals and the climate should also pay off. The change should come step by step. The rules should get simpler.

The Tierschutzpartei wants to end field trials and commercial cultivation of genetically modified plants. Genetically modified foods are to be clearly labeled, including meat and milk from animals given such feed.

The Tierschutzpartei wants no genetically modified plants on fields. Genetic engineering means people change the genes of plants. Food made with it should carry a label. This also applies to meat and milk.

The Tierschutzpartei wants to scale back intensive livestock farming and abolish large animal operations in the short term. In the longer run, all animal farming that the platform regards as exploitative is to end. Subsidies are meant to enable a switch to purely plant-based agriculture.

The Tierschutzpartei wants to end factory farming. Large animal farms should close soon. Later, this kind of animal farming should stop completely. Farmers should get money to switch to growing plants.

The Tierschutzpartei wants an emissions levy on farms based on herd size and higher taxes on meat, dairy and eggs. Restaurants are always to offer one vegan dish, while schools and daycare centers serve purely plant-based meals. The platform expects this to relieve the health system, farmland and consumers.

The Tierschutzpartei wants meat, milk and eggs to cost more. Farms with many animals should pay a fee. Every restaurant should offer a vegan meal. Vegan means without animal products. Schools and daycare centers should serve plant-based food.

The Tierschutzpartei wants to ban advertising for meat, sausage, fish, eggs and dairy products as quickly as possible. Animal products from conventional and factory farming are to be clearly labeled. Agricultural overproduction is also to be reduced.

The Tierschutzpartei wants to ban ads for meat, fish, eggs and milk. Animal products should clearly show how the animals were kept. People should easily spot vegan and vegetarian food. Farms should stop producing too much.

The Tierschutzpartei wants to end food waste. To that end, dumpster diving, meaning taking discarded food from store bins, is to be legalized immediately, and retailers are to pay a tax on food they throw away. Food banks for people and animals are to receive support.

The Tierschutzpartei wants less food to end up in the trash. People should be allowed to take food from store bins. This is called dumpster diving. Stores should pay a tax when they throw food away. Food banks should get help.

The Tierschutzpartei wants slaughtering to be monitored by video and fattening operations to be inspected permanently. People who document abuses in such businesses are not to face criminal prosecution. Antibiotic use in livestock farming is to drop sharply, and glyphosate is to be banned immediately.

The Tierschutzpartei wants cameras in slaughterhouses. Fattening farms should be checked all the time. People who secretly film animal suffering should not be punished. Animals should get far fewer antibiotics. The weed killer glyphosate should be banned right away.

The Tierschutzpartei wants Germany to push for an end to EU direct payments based on area and animal numbers. All farm subsidies are to be tied to ecological, social and ethical standards. An additional EU fund is to finance the exit from industrial livestock farming.

Farmers now get EU money based on land and animal numbers. The Tierschutzpartei wants to end that. Money should only go to work that is good for nature and animals. A new EU fund should pay for ending factory farming.

The Tierschutzpartei wants to scrap state aid for the meat and dairy sector. The money would instead go to plant-based, organic farming. Farmers leaving animal husbandry would receive funding, advice and retraining.

Meat and dairy farms get money from the state today. The Tierschutzpartei wants to stop that. The money would go to farms that only grow plants. Farmers would get help to switch.

The Tierschutzpartei calls for much stricter rules on keeping farm animals. Procedures such as tail docking and beak trimming would be banned, space per animal greatly increased and antibiotic use cut. Unannounced inspections and tougher penalties would enforce the rules.

The Tierschutzpartei wants stricter rules for farm animals. Nobody would be allowed to cut tails or beaks. Animals would get much more space. Officials would inspect farms without warning.

The Tierschutzpartei calls for a mandatory label on meat and dairy products showing housing conditions, carbon footprint and environmental impact. Advertising that, in the platform's view, hides the factory-farm origin of products would be banned.

Meat and milk would carry a label. It shows how the animals lived. It also shows the harm to climate and nature. Ads with pictures of happy animals would be banned.

The Tierschutzpartei wants to greatly expand state support for plant-based foods and animal-free products, including through an innovation fund. School programs and campaigns would inform people about plant-based eating. The platform sees this as a response to animal suffering, environmental damage and lifestyle diseases.

The Tierschutzpartei wants more support for food made from plants. The state would set up a special fund for this. Schools would teach about eating without animal products. The party says this helps animals, nature and health.

Volt wants to restructure EU farm support by 2030: instead of direct payments, there would be a premium for services that benefit the environment, climate and animal welfare. Agriculture is thereby meant to combine sustainability with economic efficiency.

Farmers get money from the EU today. Volt wants to hand out this money differently. By 2030 there should be a new premium. Money goes to those who do something for the environment, the climate and animals. Fields should become smaller and more varied.

Volt wants to raise animal welfare in agriculture. CO₂ stunning and tethering are to be replaced by more animal-friendly methods, and animal products are to be clearly labeled by husbandry method and origin.

Volt wants farm animals to have a better life. Animals should no longer be tied up in the barn. Stunning with CO₂ before slaughter should end. Meat and milk should show how and where the animals lived. Pictures should show this.