New directions for West German agricultural policy. The example of Schleswig-Holstein

Abstract

Since 1988 as a means of controlling levels of agricultural surplus the European Community has offered subsidies to farmers to set aside their land for non-agricultural purposes. The origins of this policy lie firmly in the Federal Republic of Germany where a set-aside policy has been in existence since 1985 in some regions. An important feature of the German programme has been the efforts to improve rural environments once land has been set aside. This is known as Extensivierungsförderung and was first introduced in Schleswig-Holstein in northern Germany. Following the German example the European Commission has proposed the closer integration of set-aside policy and environmental conservation in rural areas within the EC. This paper traces the background of the Extensivierungsförderung programme in Schleswig-Holstein and examines the reactions of the farming community and farmers' institutions to it. Preliminary evidence suggests that the programme has had greatest impact in the western marshlands where small-scale dairy farms predominate, while on the other hand there has been little interest shown by those fanning large cereal holdings in the more productive eastern areas of the region.