ifoam'96 Book of Abstracts 11th IFOAM Scientific Conference 11-15 August 1996, Copenhagen, Denmark

ECOWEB FRONT PAGE SUBJECT INDEX AUTHOR INDEX

Organic World

East Germany/Brandenburg O6

Ökoring Brandenburg e.V., D-12277 Berlin-Marienfelde, Nahmitzer Damm 26

Organic agriculture has a long tradition in East Germany. Since political changes in 1989 organic agriculture increased from only a few farms working organic during former GDR to a level as high as, or even higher than in other regions of Germany or Europe. A great diversity in farm organisation systems (small - big; private farmers - community farming - organic agribusiness) and production profiles was established during resent years. Farms are usually bigger than in West-Germany but more characteristic is the diversity in organisation systems, which is not (not yet ?) present in the western parts.
The point of view in this presentation is not academic - it is from practical work in consulting organic farms in the federal state of Brandenburg and from colleagues working in other states of East-Germany.
From practical experience and practical examples reported it is concluded, that sound organic production methods are not connected to special farm size or organisation system.
Finally it will be discussed which new conclusions can be drawn, especially for the formally western-system organic agriculture.