German farming “facing crisis of national proportions” following drought, says minister

Drought and heat have left devastating marks on farming in many German regions this year, according to the agriculture ministry’s 2026 harvest report. Yields for important crops such as cereal, winter wheat and rapeseed are expected to be between 7 and 12 percent lower compared to 2025. 

“We are facing a crisis of national proportions,” said agriculture minister Alois Rainer. “If the very foundations of our farms – and thus our production capacity – are under long-term threat, then we cannot simply carry on as usual.”

Germany’s agricultural sector is facing multiple risks simultaneously, the ministry said. These included high fertiliser and diesel prices, blocked supply chains driven by the US-Israeli war on Iran, higher production costs and lower producer prices, and the consequences of climate change including drought, heat, heavy rain and forest fires. 

The ministry announced the introduction of a liquidity facility totalling around one billion euros, including an expanded farm loan programme and aid to cover fertiliser and diesel costs. It is also pushing for a “risk compensation reserve” that would let farms set aside tax-free provisions in good years for future crises, promote multi-risk insurance, and funds for forest conversion as well as new sources of income for the fishing industry. 

Germany has to change course in agricultural subsidies, said environmental NGO NABU, arguing that the government should stop distributing billions of euros based on acreage and invest in resilient farms instead. “We must invest now in a resilient agricultural sector, rather than trying to cushion the effects of extreme weather year after year with aid payments,” said NABU agriculture expert Phillip Brändle, referring to greater diversity in the fields, humus build-up, agroforestry systems and improved water retention.

In August, Germany's main farmers' lobby group warned that persistent heat and drought could wipe out entire harvests in some southern regions this year, calling on the government for financial aid and cheaper diesel for farmers. Like many other countries in Europe, Germany experienced record temperatures earlier this year, after facing repeated droughts and heatwaves in recent summers. 

Farming groups have increasingly demanded state support to cope with more frequent extreme weather, reviving debates over how much financial responsibility the government should take for climate adaptation in the sector. In 2024, the farming industry for several weeks organised large-scale protests that blocked roads across the country in a bid to reverse support cuts for diesel fuel that were implemented to reduce the sector's climate impact.