"Soil Day" - Left party calls for "farmland in farmers' hands"

The Left Party in the Saxon state parliament sees arable land increasingly threatened by other uses. To mark International Soil Day (December 5), it called on Monday for an agricultural structure law that prevents land speculation and secures farmers' access to land.

"Farmland belongs in farmers' hands, non-agricultural investors must be pushed back. Price caps and pre-emption rights should make it possible for small farms to acquire land," explained Antonia Mertsching, Member of Parliament. Land companies oriented towards the common good should keep land reserves in public hands and lease them to regional agricultural and forestry businesses.

Mertsching referred to the loss of arable land in recent years. "On average, 5.8 hectares of land have fallen victim to the construction of settlements and transport routes every day since 2000. Arable land is particularly affected: 4.3 hectares are lost to agriculture every day due to the construction of buildings and roads." Valuable land would be lost without replacement. "But soil cannot be increased. That's why sealing must finally be limited and areas actively unsealed."