FPÖ farmers alarmed

“The trend is towards industrial agriculture”

(Bild: krone.tv)

In an interview with krone.tv, Peter Schmiedlechner, Member of the National Council and Federal Chairman of the FPÖ Farmers' Party, describes the threatening situation for domestic agriculture: "I have not met a single farmer who wanted or agreed to the renaturation ordinance. There are far too many requirements and guidelines. Agriculture will be severely restricted as a result, and production will also be reduced."

Austria would lose its agricultural diversity in terms of fruit and arable crops. Schmiedlechner: "Austria is moving towards industrial agriculture." The domestic cattle population is declining, as is the pig population: "Positive figures are being used to deceive people." Organic farming is positive, but in times of sharply rising prices, demand is declining because many people can no longer afford the more expensive organic products: "Organic farming is a close-to-nature circular economy, and that's a good thing. But conventional agriculture also has a high standard in Austria and is extremely important."

Farmers are being blackmailed
In general, however, many agricultural products, such as meat production, lack a designation of origin. Schmiedlechner: "As a result, there are many more imports than assumed, but they don't show up. For example, imports from the Mercosur region." (This probably refers to imported meat from South America, note). According to Schmiedlechner, however, it is more about maintaining diversity and securing production in Austria. However, farmers in this country suffer from the highest supermarket density in the entire EU. As a result, they are under high pressure from retailers and the food industry. Schmiedlechner: "This is a catastrophe in Austria. A letter has already been sent to farmers on many occasions stating that the purchase prices for milk would be lowered. If they did not agree to this, the milk would no longer be collected. That is blackmail."  

Competence through personal involvement
When asked how the Freedom Party farmers' view of agriculture differs from that of the ÖVP, Schmiedlechner, who runs a farm himself, replies: "What speaks from me is the competence of being affected. The ÖVP is just trying to inflate the apparatus with functionaries. Both in the ministry and in the Chamber of Agriculture and the AMA."

You can see all the answers to this, as well as to the question of whether agriculture in Austria is generally in crisis, in the video above.