Germany's Growers Nearing End of Era

Source from:  tr.itsmyiq.com Sep 10, 2007 09/11/2007

Germany's tobacco growers are preparing to exit the industry as the date for the withdrawal of subsidies, the end of 2009, approaches. Deutsche Welle recently interviewed farmer, Markus Fischer, who is the fourth generation in his family to grow tobacco, and probably the last. About a sixth of his 150 ha farm in the southern Palatinate region of Germany is currently grown to tobacco, the farm's main source of income. But Fischer was quoted as saying that German tobacco farmers could not cover their overheads without the subsidies. They would not be able to keep producing tobacco for the amount they were currently getting from buyers. Fischer has started looking into alternative crops. He has expanded his asparagus production and started growing strawberries, but he receives much less for these products than he does for tobacco. Enditem