--- title: Germany Rolls Back Environmental Rules To Boost Crops description: Germany will allow farmers to sow crops for feed in previously ecologically protected areas as Russia's war in Ukraine impacts supply canonical: https://time.com/6156901/germany-environmental-rules-crops-russia-war-ukraine/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2022-03-11T15:40:32.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-24T13:59:51.136Z article:section: Climate og:title: Germany Rolls Back Environmental Rules To Boost Crop Supply og:description: Germany will allow farmers to sow crops for feed in previously ecologically protected areas og:url: https://time.com/6156901/germany-environmental-rules-crops-russia-war-ukraine/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8492eebc4557684f/698a2fe3096a943e716ac57a/germany-farm-russia-ukraine-environment.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Impressions of Germany - Bean harvest in Lower Saxony og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Germany Rolls Back Environmental Rules To Boost Crop Supply twitter:description: Germany will allow farmers to sow crops for feed in previously ecologically protected areas twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8492eebc4557684f/698a2fe3096a943e716ac57a/germany-farm-russia-ukraine-environment.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Germany Rolls Back Environmental Rules To Boost Domestic Crops Threatened by Russia's War in Ukraine by [IRINA ANGHEL/BLOOMBERG](https://time.com/author/bloomberg/) ## IRINA ANGHEL/BLOOMBERG Mar 11, 2022 3:40 PM UTC  A fully automated harvester harvests organic beans from a field near Gross Lobke, Germany, 28 August 2014. A fully automated harvester harvests organic beans from a field near Gross Lobke, Germany, 28 August 2014.Julian Stratenschulte/picture alliance—Getty Images by [IRINA ANGHEL/BLOOMBERG](https://time.com/author/bloomberg/) ## IRINA ANGHEL/BLOOMBERG Mar 11, 2022 3:40 PM UTC Germany wants to roll back some environmental policies in order to boost domestic crop production as Russia’s invasion of [Ukraine](https://time.com/tag/ukraine/) threatens global grain and oilseed supplies. The country will allow farmers to sow crops for feed in previously ecologically protected areas, and will step up its strategy to increase the competitiveness of domestic, protein-rich legumes such as peas and broad beans, the German agriculture ministry said. The measures should help meet regional feed demand, cushion the impact of farmers’ surging input costs and ensure self-sufficiency. “Putin’s war against Ukraine shows us the vulnerable points of our agricultural system,” Agriculture Minister Cem Oezdemir said in Friday’s statement. “Our measures are therefore aimed at providing rapid assistance—and at making agriculture as a whole less vulnerable to crises.” The European Union is a major importer of corn, which is often used in feed, and [more than half](https://circabc.europa.eu/sd/a/6049d638-2855-467f-90f8-845ec9408504/CER%20TAXUD%5FSurv.pdf) of its supplies this season came from Ukraine. Member states are now scrambling for grains elsewhere, as the war threatens to decimate [Ukrainian crops and exports](https://time.com/6156160/ukraine-bans-wheat-exports/), with farmers unable to access fields. Germany’s environmentally protected areas once off-limits for farming were spread over about 1.2 million hectares (3 million acres) as of 2021. Other measures announced by the ministry include streamlining bureaucracy in programs that promote [renewable energy](https://time.com/6152889/ukraine-russia-climate-ipcc-report/) in agriculture. The country will also help with animal-friendly feeding in organic farming, which is set to be among the worst hit by a loss of feed imports from Ukraine. Germany is also mounting a push against [food](https://time.com/6151242/ukraine-food-inflation-cost-of-living/) protectionism as part of its presidency this year of the Group of Seven nations. —With assistance from Iain Rogers. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/6156901/germany-environmental-rules-crops-russia-war-ukraine/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/6156901/germany-environmental-rules-crops-russia-war-ukraine/"},"headline":"Germany Rolls Back Environmental Rules To Boost Domestic Crops Threatened by Russia's War in Ukraine","datePublished":"2022-03-11T15:40:32.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-24T13:59:51.136Z","description":"Germany will allow farmers to sow crops for feed in previously ecologically protected areas as Russia's war in Ukraine impacts supply","url":"https://time.com/6156901/germany-environmental-rules-crops-russia-war-ukraine/","keywords":["Food & Agriculture","Ukraine","climate change","europe","Germany","wire","healthscienceclimate","bloomberg wire","Climate Is Everything"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8492eebc4557684f/698a2fe3096a943e716ac57a/germany-farm-russia-ukraine-environment.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"IRINA ANGHEL/BLOOMBERG"}],"articleSection":"Climate","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8492eebc4557684f/698a2fe3096a943e716ac57a/germany-farm-russia-ukraine-environment.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Impressions of Germany - Bean harvest in Lower Saxony","caption":"Bean harvest in Lower Saxony, Germany","creditText":"Julian Stratenschulte/picture alliance—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/climate/","name":"Climate"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/food-and-agriculture/","name":"Food & Agriculture"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/6156901/germany-environmental-rules-crops-russia-war-ukraine/","name":"Germany Rolls Back Environmental Rules To Boost Domestic Crops Threatened by Russia's War in Ukraine"}}]}] ```