Government wants better exchange with farmers

The Saxon government wants to pay more attention to the concerns of farmers and maintain a better exchange with their interest groups. On Friday, the Ministry of Agriculture held the kick-off meeting for a dialog aimed at supplementing existing discussion formats. In addition to Agriculture Minister Wolfram Günther (Greens), State Chancellery Head Oliver Schenk (CDU) took part on behalf of the government. Farmers are represented at the meetings by the State Farmers' Association, the Working Group for Rural Agriculture, the Organic Farming Alliance and the Land schafft Verbindung initiative, among others.

"Fluctuating world market prices, harsh price dictates by retail groups, a lack of regional processing options in some cases, unclear framework conditions and a sharp increase in bureaucratic requirements over the years: Agriculture is under pressure," explained Agriculture Minister Günther. The sector has clearly articulated this pressure in recent weeks. "Ensuring clear framework conditions, stable income prospects and less bureaucratic burdens is the task of the political levels at state, federal and EU level. To this end, my ministry and I have been in continuous and close contact with the associations for years."

According to State Chancellery Head Oliver Schenk, agriculture urgently needs to be relieved of unnecessary bureaucracy. "It is important that we in Saxony talk to the representatives of the associations and find solutions. The Saxon state government takes the concerns and needs of farmers seriously and is prepared to critically scrutinize the bureaucratic burdens imposed by state law and implement possible simplifications in a timely manner."