Dr. Norbert Röder in the Agricultural Committee of the Bundestag

Dr. Norbert Röder (Thünen Institute of Rural Studies), as invited expert, highlighted the following points in his statement:

1. Double supply crisis: production of agricultural products and availability of fertilizers limited.
2. Notable increase in agricultural production in Germany possible by summer/fall 2023 at the earliest
3. Production potential limited with greater use of fallow land (suspension of GAEC-8): Annual grain production could be increased by 0.6 to 1.0 million metric tons
4. Discussion on GAEC-8: consider "slow in - fast out" for environmental impacts, this means, establishment of species-rich communities and storage of soil carbon requires several years; this positive effect can be reversed even by one-time interventions
5. Demand-side action options act faster and have more potential to improve supply situation: Suspend blending obligations (diesel, gasoline), expand substrate base for biogas plants, adjust "quality" standards for baking wheat.
6. Recognize tense agricultural market situation not only as a short-term but also as a long-term problem
7. Postponing the implementation of CAP reform by one year does not make sense
8. Increase focus on multifunctional land use

To view the full testimony, please click here.

A video recording of the hearing can be accessed here. The contributions of Norbert Röder start at the running time 0:08:40 as well as 1:13:30.