Moderate Support to Agriculture – News

Leader Extremely dry and hot weather means difficulties for Swedish farmers. The harvest is considerably reduced and the lack of cattle feed forces cattle, which is hampered by long queues in slaughterhouses. Managing the situation on its own is very difficult for many farmers who lose both assets and income.

The need for crisis support for farmers is obvious, which the moderates express in developing a series of proposals. Party leader Ulf Kristersson and Environment and Agriculture Spokesperson Maria Malmer Stenergard visited the Chromsta Farm near Enköping on 26 July and presented the crisis support program. It contains proposals to strengthen the economic situation of farmers and to temporarily exempt the group from certain rules that aggravate and expose the company.

Farmers already have to wait several years before getting financial support, as has already been done. As a crisis measure, M wants to make sure that this will be paid as quickly as possible and that he will also be able to pay in advance the EU support for 2018 In addition, the party proposes that the VAT payments for agriculture be postponed until autumn.

These measures would cost long term no extra for Sweden or the EU. Nevertheless, the redistribution of aid and the deferred payment of VAT make a big difference for farmers who have to deal with the extreme drought.

In a summer drought, farmers are more accustomed to making political decisions. A clear example is the government's plan to further increase the tax on agricultural diesel 2019. M therefore wants to facilitate farmers by stopping the increase and temporarily reducing the tax on diesel fuel. Another simplifying measure in the crisis support package is to facilitate the use of forest and beach work.

With his proposals, the moderates are showing the borders in a region where the government has recently failed. When the Minister of Agriculture, Sven-Erik Bucht (S) went to Brussels to make contributions from the EU crisis fund, he came back with bad news. Many suggest that Bucht accepted defeat too easily, instead of promising farmers the money that has not yet appeared.

The moderate will and the message of the moderates are therefore welcome. The Minister of the Interior also welcomes the initiative, while the government is also preparing a crisis package. But whatever the actions of the government, it is already serious enough that they have not yet arrived. The drought and the situation of farmers are hardly new. Here, M has been far ahead of the government in crisis management. (SNB)