Kaniber fears consequences of Berlin's budget bottlenecks
Bavaria's Agriculture Minister Michaela Kaniber (CSU) fears that the budget bottlenecks in the federal government will also have a financial impact on the state. On the one hand, there will be a lack of money from Berlin for rural development, said Kaniber on Thursday at the Bavarian Farmers' Association's state assembly in Herrsching am Ammersee. On the other hand, money for climate-friendly forest conversion was also at risk of being cut. The CSU politician criticized that "secure funding" was now questionable.
In her speech, Kaniber called for a reorganization of European agricultural policy: simpler, clearer and less bureaucratic. She also wants to discuss with a new Bavarian "Practitioners' Council" the areas in which farmers need relief.
Kaniber defended the fact that the Ministry of Agriculture is now responsible for veterinary inspections on farms following the reorganization of departments after the state elections. "Of course there must be expert inspections, no question about it," she said. However, the aim is to avoid duplicate inspections as far as possible. Animal welfare would be strengthened rather than weakened as a result, she argued. It was about animal welfare, but also about protecting the farming community. To discredit someone in advance because of this is "bottomless impudence", she said.
Farmers' President Günther Felßner demanded, among other things, that the same high environmental, animal welfare and social standards should apply to trade agreements and imports from third countries into the European Union. "We are friends of free trade - but we want fair conditions." Regional farmer Christine Singer pleaded for more regionality. "If regional products are strengthened, this will create prospects for agriculture here in Bavaria. And consumers also benefit: shorter distances, traceability and high quality standards," she said.
Kaniber proposed discussing potential relief areas for farmers with a new Bavarian "Practitioners' Council," as part of her call for a simplified and less bureaucratic European agricultural policy. Due to budget bottlenecks in Berlin, various associations in the agriculture sector, including rural development and climate-friendly forest conversion, may face funding cuts.
Source: www.dpa.com
