Minister: The summer drought has plunged German agriculture into a major crisis

This summer’s drought has plunged German agriculture into a “massive nationwide crisis”, the country’s agriculture minister said on Wednesday, whilst announcing new emergency loans for producers affected by poor harvests.

In presenting the report, the ministry stated that the grain harvest is expected to reach around 37 million tonnes – more than 2 per cent below the average for the past five years.

The drought has hit maize and sugar beet crops particularly hard – yields for both crops are expected to fall by 16 per cent compared with the same average.

This summer, heatwaves and droughts have ravaged much of Europe. These weather conditions have led to increased mortality rates, caused massive forest fires in many countries and damaged numerous crops.

“We are not just talking about tonnes or hectares,” but also about “the current state of our farms”, said Minister Alois Rainer, referring to the high production costs, which are further exacerbated by current fuel prices.

As part of the government’s efforts to support the sector, the minister announced that the volume of the state loan programme for farmers is being increased by 300 million euros to 500 million euros.

Mr Rainer added that he is also in talks with the Ministry of Finance regarding a separate support scheme for farmers.

“Germany’s own food security is at risk,” he emphasised.