Özdemir (Greens) explicitly distances himself from the earlier European Plant Protection Products Regulation (SUR) that proposed bans on excessive ‘chemicals in agriculture’. This had been proposed in the Green Deal by then EU Commissioner Frans Timmermans and was further tightened by Sarah Wiener of the Austrian Greens. Özdemir says that a line was crossed there and that he wants to distinguish himself with his approach.
The BMEL (Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture) now emphasizes reliance on cooperation, support, advice, and innovation rather than bans or legal requirements. Largely, the recommendations of the Borchert Future Commission for Agriculture (ZKL) are followed to keep the environmental, biodiversity, and health impacts of crop protection measures as low as possible.
In Özdemir’s proposal, the choice is made first to use and test as many other natural and biological plant protectors as possible. Berlin also states that subsidies will be provided for developing precision equipment for removing/picking weeds. However, his proposal does not yet include ‘new money’; this must be arranged by his BMEL ministry and the Bundestag when approving the annual budgets.
The federal minister also stressed that new methods must be tested on model farms and in regions. “Of course, farmers must still be able to protect and treat their crops in the future when necessary,” Özdemir explains. “We will only be successful if we consider sustainability, yield, and income security together.”
He also spoke about the dilemma facing agriculture. “The human-caused climate crisis presents us with challenges we cannot meet without pesticides. Recent harvest reports shockingly demonstrate how many storms and climate changes impact yields,” Özdemir said.
“On the other hand, the decline in biodiversity makes it clear that we will have to change something. We cannot continue on the old path.” Therefore, Berlin also maintains the intention to expand organic farming area to 30% in the coming years.
The German Nature Conservation Association (Nabu) calls it a first step in a reaction. DBV (German Farmers’ Association) chairman Joachim Rukwied describes the currently presented version as better than earlier proposals by Özdemir. But according to the Farmers’ Union, it remains a proposal aimed at reduction and limitation.
The organic association criticizes that Özdemir now (after farmers’ protests against it) abandons his earlier plan for a levy or fertilizer-tax on chemical use, to be able to give subsidies for nature-friendly agents.