With subsidies for the energy transition and emergency aid, the federal and state governments want to further strengthen the Tyrolean farmers in the future. Despite numerous uncertainties, food safety is taught in Austria. The price increase in agriculture must be countered with additional resources.
“We are in a time of multiple crises” – this is how Agriculture Minister Norbert Totschnig introduced a press conference in East Tyrol on the topic of agriculture. The aftermath of the pandemic, the war in Ukraine with all its consequences and climate change are currently causing turbulent times. The good news: Austria is in a good position in terms of food supply, according to Totschnig: “The farmers provide the food we need.”
Population aid goes hand in hand with climate change
To keep it that way, you have to help now. The cost of fuel, fertilizer or animal feed rose by more than a billion. Before Christmas, a security package of 110 million euros has to be paid out, of which 6.2 in Tyrol. More help packages have been put together. These should also help to make agriculture more environmentally friendly.
The TyrVP chairman of Tyrol, Anton Mattle, follows the same line. To achieve the energy transition in Tyrol in 2050, one must continue to focus on the expansion of renewable energy sources. On the one hand, this is hydropower, but also photovoltaic energy and biomass, which are suitable as a heat carrier and electricity generator. He also thinks practically: “We also have to use the topography, such as southern slopes, height differences, the water. But we have to get going.”
Protection of the homeland as a decisive factor
Another important point is safety. Increasing weather extremes with great damage have challenged Tyrol in recent years. Here, people want to counteract this – also with a view to climate change – with climate-friendly forests. “The forest fund makes reforestation and forest maintenance possible. But we need a climate-friendly forest that can handle higher temperatures,” says Totschnig. That’s why people dare to look beyond borders to the Balkans, where these preconditions already exist.
Source: Krone
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