The Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer ... - BMELV

The BMELV 13
products available. Sustainable agriculture and forestry are the
prerequisites for protecting our natural resources – soil, water
and air – and for maintaining biological diversity. Protecting
these natural resources and welfare-orientated husbandry of
farm animals are special concerns of the Ministry. We also devote
a great deal of attention to ensuring that green genetic
engineering is conducted responsibly.
The production of high-quality foods is a major task for the
agricultural sector because demand continues to rise due to a
growing world population and the increasing desire for highquality
products such as meat, milk, fruit and vegetables.
Yet, today’s farmers are also increasingly involved in growing
energy. Against the backdrop of the EU’s and Germany’s ambitious
policy objectives in climate and resource protection and
in view of rising energy prices, the sustainable use of regenerative
sources of energy provides additional opportunities. The
domestic agricultural sector is now a major producer of biomass
for the production of electricity, heat and biofuels. There
is also a demand for renewable resources as materials and for
uses in the chemical industry. Around two million hectares of
arable land are currently used in Germany for the cultivation of
renewable resources. This enables us to tap innovative potential,
to create jobs and to safeguard incomes in rural areas.
The Federal Ministry’s aim is to create optimal conditions to
enable the German agricultural industry to be modern, multifunctional
and innovative. The BMELV has initiated a broad social
dialogue on the future tasks of the agri-food sector in Germany.
Based on the results of this debate, the BMELV presented
the “Charter for Agriculture and Consumers” in early 2012. In
five areas of action, the Charter describes important measures
for the future structuring of German food and agricultural policy,
also taking account of consumer expectations.
The Federal Ministry also advocates cutting red tape. In addition
to this, agricultural social security policy supports the
social security of self-employed farmers by providing a special
system adapted to the farming profession. Hence, agricultural
social policy is a practised element of our Social Market
Economy.