The agreement facilitates an increase in income of NOK 111,000 per man-year for the farmers. NOK 60,000 per man-year is closing the gap between the income of the farmer and other groups. Leader of Norway’s farmers’ association, Bjørn Gimming is reasonably satisfied. – The agreement raises incomes for all farmers and for all productions. We feel that the government wants to prioritize the value of food production. It is important if the farmer still has faith in his job as a food producer. But the job of raising the farmer’s income is far from over, emphasizes Gimming. DEMANDING: Leader of the Norwegian Farmers’ Association, Bjørn Gimming, says there have been demanding negotiations. Photo: Ivar Arne Nordrum / news Norges Bondelag demanded NOK 6.9 billion in this year’s agricultural settlement, while the state’s offer was NOK 3.3 billion. – Air money, says the small farmers’ association The leader of the farmers’ and small farmers’ association, Tor Jacob Solberg, does not agree that the agreement is a good result. – The agricultural settlement is full of empty money that never benefits the farmer and will lead to an increased income gap for the rest of society, says Solberg to NTB. – It is a total slap in the face from the government. There will be no increase in income, he says. The Norwegian Farmers’ and Small Farmers’ Association has not participated in the negotiations, because for the first time in history they and the Norwegian Farmers’ Association were unable to agree on the demand. Great distance When the state presented its offer earlier this spring, the reactions were not long in coming. – It is completely idiotic. One gets depressed, because you do what you love, but you are not appreciated, said Skjåk farmer Liv Oddrun Maurstad when the state’s offer came. The good settlement last year should provide solid income growth. Instead, it has become compensation for increased fertilizer and diesel prices, claims Maurstad. Prioritizing food preparedness The government believes that the agreement which is now in place helps to compensate for increased costs in agriculture. – The government clearly shows that we prioritize national food preparedness. This agreement between agriculture and the state will help secure food production throughout the country, food security and increased self-sufficiency, says Agriculture and Food Minister Sandra Borch (Sp). AGREEMENT: Minister of Agriculture and Food Sandra Borch (Sp) provides information on the framework of the agricultural agreement. Photo: news / NTB Read more reactions to the agricultural agreement here Leader of KrF and former Minister of Agriculture, Olaug Bollestad: – I am glad that the Farmers’ Association sat down around the same table as the state and negotiated an agreement. We will do what we can to preserve direct negotiations between the state and agriculture. However, it is important that the government is constructive in the negotiations and we would like to see the government go further. But there is still a long way to go. – KrF is missing several important measures to improve farmers’ family life. Young people need future hope for the farm. The farm is a workplace, but also a place where children grow up, so I think it is a shame that the government did not respond to the demand for a one-off payment of NOK 50,000 to farmers who have children.-I would like to see an even bigger boost for welfare schemes that make that the farmer has predictability and security when illness strikes, says Olaug Bollestad. Norway’s Bygdeungdomslag: – Norway’s Bygdeungdomslag says the agreement will without doubt remedy the financial situation of the farmers, but is doubtful that the agreement creates the necessary faith among young people in the industry. – The government shows a willingness to prioritize agriculture, but unfortunately this is not enough for the young people who doubt whether they want to invest in a life in agriculture as we see it. We had hoped the state would be willing to go further to secure the future of Norwegian agriculture, says a slightly measured Henrik Nordtun Gjertsen, chairman of Norway’s Bygdeungdomslag. Rasmus Hansson, MDG: – It is highly unclear whether this agreement safeguards agricultural policy objectives. Does the agreement ensure 50 percent self-sufficiency? Does the agreement stop the continuous decline in the number of uses and the number of farmers? Is the calculation basis for the income promise correct? Are emissions cut sufficiently? The MDG will follow up on all of this when the agricultural agreement is to be considered in the business committee at the Storting. Geir Jørgensen, agricultural policy spokesperson in Rødt: – Rødt reacts to the gap between the demand, with a frame of 6.9 billion and the consensus of 4.15 billion. – It is hair-raising that the state does not meet the farmers more. Self-supply in Norway is so low that it is a preparedness problem, and a proper income for farmers is one of many things that need to be in place to increase Norwegian self-supply. This is not enough to create optimism in agriculture, and makes a mouse’s stride in the job of stabilizing income and strengthening self-sufficiency. Financing The income settlement is to be financed with allocations of NOK 2.9 billion from the state budget, and target price increases of NOK 864 million. In addition, 48 million in transferred funds and 328 million in changed value of the agricultural deduction, the government states. The agreement will go before the Storting before the summer holidays. Demanding negotiations Ahead of the negotiations, the leader of the Norwegian Farmers’ Association, Bjørn Gimming, said that the state had to show considerable willingness to negotiate. In the last 24 hours, it has dragged on and been a demanding process around crucial questions, he stated on the farmers’ association’s own website. This year, too, it was the so-called income gap that was at issue.
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Agreement in the agricultural settlement – farmers get 4.1 billion – news Innlandet – Local news, TV and radio
