Politics, Agricultural settlement | The farmers demand 3.9 billion

THE NATION: The demand from the farmers is the lowest since 2021. Then the farmers demanded 2.1 billion.

In 2022, the farmers demanded NOK 11.9 billion from the Ap/Sp government. Last year, the demand from the farmers was 6.9 billion. In the last two years, there was a sharp increase in the price of input factors for farmers, and large parts of the increase were to cover the extraordinary increase in costs.

– The framework is what unifying numerical basis makes possible given the time horizon for the government’s escalation plan, but in sum will not be enough to ensure our country’s strengthened preparedness and 50 percent self-sufficiency, says Tor Jacob Solberg, leader of the Norwegian Farmers’ and Small Farmers’ Association.

– We farmers are happy to take on the task of producing more food and for a market where the consumer is the boss. It is absolutely crucial that farmers have the motivation to produce food – dare to believe in a future with security for an income that covers bills and to be able to live like most people, says Gimming.

Different figures for closing the income gap

The requirement entails the following:

• 1.4 billion goes to cover increased costs
• 0.8 billion goes to cover the general increase in wages in society this year
• 1.9 billion goes to cover a significant part of the income gap
• 270 million can be withdrawn from the market for products without a target price. This corresponds to an increase of 1.3 percent

The requirement closes more than half of the income gap between farmers and other groups, according to the Norwegian Farmers’ Association. For the average farmer, this will mean NOK 75,900 per family man-year, according to the new calculation method.

The Norwegian Farmers’ and Small Farmers’ Association writes on its page that the increase in income will be NOK 82,900 per man-year, but the Farmers’ and Small Farmers’ Association believes that NOK 57,300 will be what farmers will experience from closing the income gap compared to other groups in society.

This means that there is a difference of around NOK 18,000 in the calculation. The negotiator explains that one figure is with a norm of 20 per cent and the other figure is without.

This means that the figure from the Norwegian Farmers’ and Small Farmers’ Association does not include the deduction of 20 per cent of income that the government has advocated, because not all farmers maximize their income opportunities.

The farmers stand together

This year, the Norwegian Farmers’ Association and the Norwegian Farmers’ and Small Farmers’ Association are standing together on a common demand for the state. Last year, the two trade unions did not agree on a common demand, and the state chose to negotiate and enter into an agreement with only the Farmers’ Association.

With the new basis of figures, and adjusted hours, the farmer’s income is calculated to be NOK 521,300.

It thinks agriculture is artificially high, but these are the numbers agriculture is negotiating on this year. For 2024, it is therefore calculated that the income gap between agriculture and other groups is NOK 135,900 per man-year, or NOK 4.3 billion. The income gap must be closed by 2027.

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