withDestroyed farms, drowned animals, fields full of mud and rubble: flood It also dealt a heavy blow to farmers. “The damage is huge,” said Michael Hopper, chairman of the Rhineland-Nassau Farmers and Vineyards Association (BWV). “We can’t accurately assess the damage, but it will definitely reach billions.” The exact extent will not be revealed until the water is completely drained in the next few weeks.
Bernhard Conzen, chairman of the Rhine Agricultural Association (RLV), hypothesized that in the association area in southern North Rhine-Westphalia alone, between 2,000 and 2,500 farms could be damaged by floods. “There is a risk of crop failure in many areas,” he said. The heavy rain pushed the grain to the ground. “This not only makes harvesting more difficult, but also reduces yields. Therefore, usually stored grain can only be sold as feed grain,” Conzen explains. It is very uncertain whether crops can be harvested in the soil-covered fields.
BWV President Hopper said that harvests in many grassland areas have also been destroyed. However, there is currently no threat to supply these animals. “We have received feed donations from other regions. The willingness to help is great.” However, due to the destruction of infrastructure, farmers are facing challenges. “Some farmers cannot reach their fields. Sometimes milk cannot be obtained from the farm,” Hopper reports.
Only two wineries in the Aar Valley survived
Rhineland is also a wine region. Especially in the Ahr Valley, the waves left a scene of destruction. “Except for two wineries, this wave hit all wine merchants,” said Knut Schubert, managing director of the Ahr Wine Association. Many of the 65 main businesses and hundreds of part-time businesses were completely destroyed, without electricity, water, and internet. “Individual wine villages are still isolated from the outside world and can only be reached by helicopter,” Schubert reports.
The supplies in the wine cellar were flooded with water and mud. Hubert Pauli, president of the Al Wine Association, estimates that a one-and-a-half-year harvest worth 50 million euros was ruined. More importantly, do not lose this year’s gains. Because despite the destruction of the valley, about 90% to 95% of the vines on the steep slopes are still preserved.
“The winemaker is doing all they can to save the vineyard, but the pressure from the fungus is huge,” Schubert said. The fact that the injection is expected to start again on Thursday eased some of the pressure. In addition, the leaves must also be removed from the vine. The winemakers in the Aar Valley are supported by winemaking teams in other regions. Winemakers are also looking for voluntary, unskilled workers to help. Even if the grapes can be preserved, the winemaker faces the next problem when harvesting. “Vine presses, presses, filling machines and cork machines have been completely destroyed on many goods,” Schubert said.
Multi-type insurance is too expensive for farmers
The Federal Minister of Agriculture Julia Klöckner (CDU) assured farmers that they will also be included in the 400 million euro emergency assistance of the federal and state governments. In order to ensure the liquidity of the farm, Landwirtschaftliche Rentenbank also provides loans on special preferential terms.
In the case of existing promotional loans, affected farmers can suspend repayment. RLV President Kang Cen said that they urgently need government assistance and donations. He expected that many of his professional colleagues were not insured for damage. But this is not because the farmers are careless. “In Germany, agriculture does have multiple risk insurance-but our farms cannot manage this by their own economy.”
The drought in the past three years will cost farmers a lot, and it can be assumed that due to climate change, yield fluctuations will continue to increase. Therefore, Conzen called for a state-subsidized insurance solution for extreme weather conditions. This demand is neither new nor unique. The German Insurance Association (GDV) has also been advocating for funds available in countries such as France, Spain and Austria for many years.
