Draft budget of the Ministry of Agriculture: Federal government wants to save on organic food and animal welfare

In its draft budget for 2027, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture has cut funding for, for example, organic farming, biodiversity and more animal protection. The funding for the federal program to convert animal husbandry should be reduced by 42 percent to 148 million euros. In addition, the federal government only wants to reimburse the states around 606.3 million euros for subsidies to organic farmers or farmers who create flower strips. That is 8 percent less than in the 2026 financial year.

The subsidies for farmers' independent health, pension and accident insurance, on the other hand, will increase by 3 percent to 4.3 billion euros. These special social security systems for the industry now swallow up more than 60 percent of the entire agricultural budget. It is estimated at a total of 6.97 billion euros, around 20 million less than currently. The European Union's agricultural subsidies and other benefits such as the reduced energy tax on diesel for agricultural machinery (“agricultural diesel”) come in addition and from other sources.

In the first debate about the budget in the Bundestag on Thursday, the Parliamentary State Secretary at the Ministry of Agriculture, Silvia Breher (CDU), defended the draft by saying that agriculture was in a “crisis of national importance”. This is due to drought and drought, high costs for diesel and fertilizer as well as price pressure, especially on the pig market. Like Minister Alois Rainer (CSU) in a similar speech last week, she did not give any figures on how many agricultural companies are actually facing bankruptcy. She did not justify the reduction in funds for the conversion of animal husbandry, but said: “We need additional funds here,” but the financial situation was tense.

Even members of the coalition partner SPD criticized the cuts. Jens Behrens, for example, appealed to Rainer to continue financing the stable conversion program. Julia Verlinden from the Greens accused the minister of making savings “on climate- and water-friendly agriculture.”

Sascha Wagner from the Left Party criticized that independent social insurance for agriculture was “neither sustainable nor solidarity-based in the long term”. It ties up an ever larger part of the budget at the expense of aid for organic farming and the development of rural areas. “Farmers must also be gradually included in the general social security systems,” said Wagner.

But an average farmer would only receive a small pension benefit, criticized Bernd Schattner from the AfD, without mentioning, however, that farmers, as self-employed people, usually supplement their pension provision individually with pension entitlements, rental income and/or additional voluntary provision, as stated in the budget. Nevertheless, Schattner complained that the federal government was helping Ukraine, which was attacked by Russia, with billions and was also investing billions in “climate donkeys,” which could apparently also mean the fight against climate change, from which farmers are increasingly suffering.