The Norwegian Farmers’ Association and the Norwegian Farmers’ and Small Farmers’ Association demand NOK 3.9 billion. The state presented its offer on Monday at 12 noon.
The government’s offer of NOK 2.62 billion corresponds to an increase in income of around NOK 70,000 per man-year.
Leader of the Norwegian Farmers’ Association, Bjørn Gimming, believes it is not enough:
– Revenue must be raised faster than the government plans. If we are to achieve the goal of self-sufficiency, the farmer’s income is absolutely crucial.
Gimming says on Friday that the offer is not enough to reverse the serious situation that the farmers’ association believes the industry is in.
The agricultural settlement must be completed by 17 May.
Here are the biggest items in the farmers’ demands:
- Transfers from the central government increase by NOK 2.7 billion.
- The target prices for food grains, potatoes, ten different vegetables, apples and milk will increase by NOK one billion from 1 July this year.
Almost half of the demand is about equalizing the income differences between farmers and other groups in society.
The income gap is NOK 136,000 per man-year. The requirement means that more than half of the gap is closed this year.
The offer suggests that a third of the income gap between agriculture and other groups can be closed already this year.
The offer is financed with NOK 1.944 billion over the state budget and increased target prices for agricultural goods of NOK 526 million.
– We attach great importance to reducing the settlement’s impact on food prices, said dispatch manager Viil Søyland on Monday.
Viewed in isolation, the government’s offer will result in an increase in food expenditure of NOK 350 per year for an average household.
The parties use different future cost growth as a basis for demands and offers.
That’s how much the farmers earn
Farm users had an average business income from agriculture of NOK 275,100 in 2022.
This is an increase of NOK 105,000 since 2017.
The differences are large, both between different forms of operation and geographically:
- Pig and poultry farmers had an agricultural income of NOK 757,300, while sheep farmers had NOK 95,700.
- Farm users in Rogaland had the highest agricultural income with NOK 381,200, farmers in Agder had NOK 159,300.
Only one in five farmers is a full-time farmer. Most have wages and income from business outside of farming.
The consequence is that the average income for farmers in 2022 was NOK 778,500.
There are over 37,000 farms in Norway.
Source: Statistics Norway
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Erlend Fiskum (44) has 130 animals at the stall in Grong in Trøndelag. He believes that this year’s agricultural settlement is extremely important.
– Now is the time for the government to put money on the table to show that there is political will to strengthen the income for Norwegian food producers.
He believes that the politicians have been making big words for many years.
– Now is the time to deliver, so that we have faith in the future and security to invest further. This is a turning point for agriculture in Norway.
Before the agricultural negotiations in 2023, the state’s offer was NOK 3.3 billion, while the demand was NOK 5.4 billion.
The agricultural settlement last year ended with one frame of NOK 4.15 billion, of which NOK 2.9 billion was taken over from the state budget.
NOK 888 million was compensation for the fact that the conditions for the settlement in 2022 did not work out as expected.
At that time, the distance to other groups was reduced by NOK 60,000.
The state believes there is a basis for a clearly lower framework in this year’s settlement, because the cost development is no longer extraordinary.
The Ap/Sp government aims to close the income gap by 2027, but does not have the parliamentary majority behind it.
The Storting rejected the proposal for increasing income for farmers, when the future agricultural policy was discussed on 18 April.
Watch the farmers’ association’s leader Bjørn Gimming present the demand:
