Farmers warn against selling off agriculture

Farmers from Saxony demonstrated on Thursday against the excessive influence of foreign investors on agriculture. The background to this was a public hearing on the state government's draft agricultural structure law. The Arbeitsgemeinschaft bäuerliche Landwirtschaft Mitteldeutschland (ABL) wanted to talk to MPs in front of parliament. ABL Managing Director Anne Neuber spoke of a good draft law. There must be effective and clear criteria for keeping investors out of agriculture or severely limiting them. The ABL called on the state parliament to pass the law as quickly as possible.

"Farmers cannot compete with non-agricultural investors, and young start-ups without land even less so. The corporations do not make their money from agriculture and can therefore pay arbitrarily high prices. In doing so, they drive up land prices and endanger the existence of farms," emphasized Neuber.

The working group recalled the sale of a large Brandenburg farm to the Leipzig-based real estate group Quarterback Immobilien AG last year. This case was no exception. The Thünen Institute estimated the proportion of investors in large farms in eastern Germany at 34 percent in 2017 - and the trend is rising. "Until now, existing laws only regulated the sale of agricultural land, but not the sale of entire agricultural companies," it said. Therefore, sales to investors have not been objectionable. The draft law would now also make so-called share deals subject to mandatory notification and approval.

The fundamental dissatisfaction in the sector stems from the fact that there are excessive financial burdens with producer prices that are too low, said Neuber when asked. "The purchase prices cannot be financed through agricultural work". Rents are constantly rising. This means that farmers have to pay more money every year. In 2007, the average rental price per hectare of agricultural land was 183 euros, in 2020 it was already 329 euros. Purchase prices have risen even more sharply in the same period - from 9,205 euros per hectare to 26,777 euros.

The Left supported the farmers' concerns. "The protest is justified, because the land market needs to be regulated more strongly," said MP Antonia Mertsching. Volkmar Zschocke (Greens) emphasized that the law protects farmers from excessive prices when buying and leasing land. The AfD criticized the draft law. It would bring even more bureaucracy and "bears a green signature". However, the law would not contribute to a balanced agricultural structure.