The agricultural industry and farmers have been tried hard in recent years. Last year the problem was a cool summer with excessive amounts of rain. This year, it is the drought that has tormented the crops, leading to poor harvests and an acute shortage of feed for many farm animals. We have to count on the variations in the weather and difficult harvest years, and we can also handle this if only the business is otherwise profitable.
The big problem is that the profitability of agriculture has been very weak for several years. Agricultural subsidies have fallen, while production costs have risen while the prices of the products we sell have remained at a too low level for too long. Therefore, most farmers no longer have a financial buffer. This, together with weak harvests such as those we have experienced in recent years, have led us to the most difficult situation in thirty years,
Therefore, there is now really reason for extra support for agriculture. The European Commissioner for Agriculture has nevertheless noted that the crop damage is so widespread that the EU cannot afford to help the farmers. We must thus be able to solve our problems nationally, but unfortunately the Ministry of Finance's proposal for the state budget does not offer any pleasures. The government must come up with a better proposal when sitting in budget negotiations at the beginning of next week. Our food supply and food production workplaces should be saved with a national emergency package as soon as possible. The farms cannot afford to wait.
Still, the crisis package is only urgent help. The government, the Riksdag and, above all, all actors in the food sector should together create the conditions for a profitable operation for all stages of the food chain. We must ensure that the farmer, the first link in the chain, receives a higher and fair share of the price of the end products. In the long run, the profitability of agriculture can only be improved if the farmer receives a better price for his products from the market. This is also what the farmers want; get paid for the high-quality foods you produce, not crisis support of various kinds.
It is therefore good that there now seems to be a political will to take at least some measures to improve the position of farmers in the market. Establishing a food ombudsman with sufficient powers is a first step. In addition, measures should also be taken, for example, to get a working grain export started.
The greatest strength of Finnish agriculture is that a large proportion of consumers state that they want to eat domestic food. Consumers influence the future of Finnish agriculture in a concrete way with their purchasing decisions. Adequate, active and factual consumer information is therefore a very important part of the future strategy. It is important that we tell you how good products we produce in Finland, how they are produced and about price formation. Buying domestically, locally produced, organic or directly from the producer are all sustainable solutions to ensure the future of domestic agriculture.
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