Summary
Key players are the institutional land owners of the region around the city of Greifswald and their tenant farmers. The land use should be shaped in a way to meet ecological, economic and social demands in the long term. The Michael Succow foundation has suggested joining forces by setting up the initiative called ‘agricultural initiative for Greifswald (Greifswalder Agrarinitiative)’ and has coordinated it until June 2019. After project ending the foundation supported the transfer into an association with the same name to ensure continuation of the cooperative approach. The current practice under which leased land has been awarded changed substantially. A transparent tendering procedure taking into account sustainability criteria has replaced rental price as key decision criterion. The agricultural holdings get advice on how to integrate environmental and nature protection measures into their farming practice. A cooperation agreement is signed between the agricultural holdings and the institutional land owners for new or renewed lease.
Objectives
- Strengthening the sense of responsibility for natural resources of tenants and land owners;
- Improving the sustainability of agricultural production;
- Biodiversity maintenance and promotion;
- Greater consideration of climate protection requirements and the protection of water bodies.
Public Goods
Problem description
The agriculture in the region around Greifswald is dominated by large scale fields and an intensive agricultural production with a high share of rented land. The intensive land use has negative impacts on the agricultural soils and the neighbouring ecosystems. The initiative has been initiated by the Michael Succow foundation.
