August 1, 2018

German farmers call for 1 billion euros in aid as heatwave drags on

According to German farming association, Deutscher Bauernverband (DBV) president, Joachim Rukwied, the drought has caused 1.4 million euros (US$1.64 million) in damages of grain crops alone this year.

As a result, German farmers are intensifying calls for around 1 billion euros (more than US$1.16 billion) in special aid last week.

Many crop growing areas in France, Germany and the Baltic Sea countries are affected by the poor weather, including a heatwave and lack of rain. Additionally, there is also a shortage of animal feed after damages to maize (corn) crops and grass.

"Expensive animal feed will have to be purchased," Rukwied reported on German TV channel ZDF.

German agriculture minister, Julia Kloeckner, said that the government needed a clearer view of the national picture and would await her own ministry's harvest report in late August. "Only then we will have a real overview of the situation in Germany," she said and added that the regional state governments could provide local aid if needed.

However, Till Backhaus, the farm minister in the eastern state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern sounded the government to declare a state of emergency for farmers. Backhaus revealed that a decision in late August would not be fast enough to aid the situation.

German state and federal agricultural agencies met on Tuesday to discuss the drought and Kloeckner is due to report to the cabinet on Wednesday.
 

Source: Euronews