EU Responds to Drought with Breaks for Farmers
July 28, 2006
In response to withering crops and farmers' requests, the European Commission announced Thursday it would allow early harvesting of fallow fields for livestock consumption and pay benefits to affected farmers in nine European countries.
"On many fields and pastures, fodder is no longer growing," Adalbert Kienle, vice-secretary general for the German Farmers' Association, told reporters. "The result is the acute danger that farms' very existences could be threatened."
"A dramatic situation"
Extended periods of above-average temperatures have led to withered, useless crops and caused what Kienle called "a dramatic situation."
In the federal state of Brandenburg, livestock have already been slaughtered due to feed scarcity. Kienle said he is concerned the harvest situation could continue to worsen, depending on weather conditions.
"Dried up fodder doesn't help anyone," said EU Commissioner of Agriculture Mariann Fischer Boel. "It was important for us to react quickly to this unusual situation and make life easier for the affected farmers."
Last week, seven of Germany's 16 federal states issued requests to Brussels concerning the opening of fallow fields in light of the current drought. The EU decided Thursday to make unused fields prematurely available.
Ordinarily the fields would not be harvested until September, but the crops would have withered by that time, according to the European Commission for Agriculture.
Practical solutions and financial benefits
In addition, affected farmers will be permitted to defer tax and social security payments to compensate for their losses this summer, the EU said. They will also receive subsidy advances, likely in December.
Farmers facing a more immediate liquidity squeeze may receive a financial boost as early as September or October.
Germany is one of nine European countries will benefit from the recent EU decision. According to the European Union's Internet portal, approximately 50 percent of its annual budget is dedicated to agriculture.