‘Land grabbing’ has grabbed people’s attention in recent years, but this phenomenon is not restricted to developing countries. In the heart of Europe, young German farmers like Paula Giola are also struggling to retain and regain access to farmland.
To make a stand and demand our rights as young people who want to go into farming, in 2012 we launched the ‘Stop land grabbing in eastern Germany’ campaign. We are a group of young farmers, college graduates, apprentices and activists united in the Confederation of Young Farmers’ (BjL). We have been working to safeguard smallholder agriculture and food sovereignty since 2012. Our collective farm in Bienenwerder is a young peasants collective, 10 years old now. However, we are struggling against investors and agribusinesses that are trying to grab the land from under our feet. This is not an isolated case, with many other farmers also threatened.
Access to land is an increasing problem globally. In the South, transferring access rights away from local farmers has been called ‘land grabbing’. But this phenomenon is not restricted to other continents. It has also been taking place in eastern Germany, here in Europe. Because of our socialist history, large tracts of land belong to the state. However, current neo-liberal policies are leading to a total sell-off to the highest bidder within the next decade. At the same time, in the wake of the financial crisis, agricultural land has become an object of speculation, with a price increase of 230% between 2006 and 2010.
Large farms dominate the landscape and are highly subsidised by the EU Common Agricultural Policy. Since 2007, the land market has been opened to financial investors and businesses without any agricultural background. These include joint ventures registered in the stock market, furniture manufacturers and dealers, opticians, real state and elder care companies, energy companies and so on… As a result, young farmers and others with farming aspirations are denied access to land as they cannot compete with such large corporations and cannot afford the price of land.
Our confederation, together with the local youth wing of La Via Campesina (jAbL), produced a position paper with our demands that was presented to the German government. We call for a moratorium on any further sale of government land. We also demand support for young farmers in order to create jobs, sustain livelihoods and contribute to food sovereignty. We believe access to land must be ensured to support small scale farming, rather than sold to investors who have no local connections or ideals regarding sustainable agriculture.
Our land is being put up ‘for sale’. But as young German farmers, we keep fighting against this sell-out. Food sovereignty for here and now!
Paula Gioia
Paula Gioia is a bio-dynamic farm apprentice and member of the Bienenwerder collective farm (45 km from Berlin), Bündnis junge Landwirtschaft, and Arbeitsgemeinschaft bäuerliche Landwirtschaft.
Campaign: www.stopp-landgrabbing.de
Email: landgrabbing-presse@riseup.net
