Schwerin (dpa/mv) - According to Agriculture Minister Till Backhaus, restrictions on fertilization will apply to 32 percent of agricultural land in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania in the future due to environmental protection. This is what the new state fertilizer regulation provides for, as the SPD politician announced on Friday. According to EU regulations, fertilization must be reduced if the groundwater in an area is polluted with nitrate. Backhaus emphasized that the specifications had been implemented precisely.
The state farmers' association spoke of almost 50 percent of the areas that would be considered so-called red areas in the future. Backhaus disagreed with this number. 32 percent are affected.
Farmer President Detlef Kurreck fears severe yield losses. "On these areas we are not allowed to fertilize our wheat, our rapeseed and all our other crops in the way they need it for good, healthy development," he explained. Only a fertilizer quantity of 80 percent of the plant requirement is allowed there. The disappointment among farmers is great.
In the old state fertilizer ordinance, only 13 percent of the fields in MV were classified as red areas. Backhaus explained that the growth is due, among other things, to stricter requirements for the assessment of water protection areas. According to the minister, values from 881 measuring points in MV were used as a basis for determining the nitrate pollution. Before that it was a good 550. "In this respect, the current regional setting is much more differentiated. Farmers have always wanted that."
