German experience in the land use

Many developed countries of the world (USA, Germany, Netherlands, Canada) have realized the importance of protecting soil fertility and have legislated a whole system aimed at preserving them. Ukraine has also created a fairly powerful regulatory framework for the protection of land resources, but it is ineffective or does not work at all.

Interesting in this area of Public Relations is the experience of the system of soil fertility protection at the state level in the Federal Republic of Germany. More than 53% of the total  territory of this country is used as agricultural land (19.1 million hectares). Of these, about 50 % (9.1 million hectares) are classified as less safe for growing agricultural crops. The average yield of cereals in the worst – condition areas is 50-60, in the best – 100 centners per hectare.

Almost 100% of agricultural land is privately owned. The average area of land owned by private individuals is 20 hectares. About 70% of agricultural land is leased. This is due to the fact that the cost of land in Germany is very high (20-25 thousand euros per 1 hectare) and buying it for growing agricultural products is unprofitable and economically unprofitable. Therefore, the movement of agricultural land on the market is very low. The average lease term is 12 years, although in recent years there has been a tendency to reduce the lease term.

Compared to Ukraine, Germany has mostly small farms. The average size is 50-60 hectares. The size of large farms is 400-500 hectares. If the farm specializes in growing one crop, its size can be only 5-6 hectares.

The implementation of the state policy on soil protection is carried out by two methods:  advisory and educational and economic (subsidies).

Agricultural chambers located in every region of Germany conduct advisory and educational activities among farmers on the need to take measures to preserve the soil in good condition.these are state organizations that exist at the expense of funds received from land payments. The amount of land tax in Germany is 20 euros per hectare. It should be noted that the funds from paying for land are 100% used to support agricultural chambers. The latter provide free consultations and training on efficient management, rational use and protection of soils. Good communication has been established between the agrarian chambers and farmers, which provides information about events, training, new technologies, and so on. The main measures for soil protection promoted by agricultural chambers are compliance with crop rotations, sowing cover and seed crops for the winter period. There are no problems with the application of organic fertilizers in Germany, which is due to the developed animal husbandry. On the contrary, there is a problem of overproduction of organic fertilizers and, even, restrictions on the number of cattle or pigs, in order to prevent contamination of water bodies and underground waters with nitrates. The services of agricultural chambers are mainly used by farmers of small farms that do not have employees, and of which the overwhelming majority.

The economic method of implementing soil conservation measures is implemented through the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) of the European Union. This is a system of agricultural subsidies and programs of the European Union, which is divided into two pillars or two branches of financing.

Within the first pillar, direct payments to farmers (subsidies) are made 100% from the EU budget. The legal basis for direct payments is Council Regulation (EU) No. 73/2009 of 19 January 2009, which establishes general rules for direct support schemes for farmers within the framework of joint agricultural policy. Direct payments support farmers ‘ incomes in exchange for their compliance with environmental, animal, food safety standards and keeping the land in good condition. In particular, a German farmer, following the rules defined in the council regulation (EU), receives subsidies in the amount of 300 euros per 1 hectare.

To receive subsidies under the first pillar of the CAP, a German farmer must follow three rules, two of which relate to soil erosion and one to crop rotation. First, at least 40% of the farmer’s arable land should remain under cover and seed crops in winter in order to reduce erosion processes. Secondly, the land should be included in the state cadastre of eroded soils, according to which the land is classified into non-eroded, medium-eroded and strong eroded. If the land plot has a certain degree of erosion, the farmer must comply with the appropriate measures that are prescribed in regulatory documents. Third, the farmer must observe a minimum of three-field crop rotation. In organic production, the duration of crop rotation is 5-10 years, but the farmer receives additional state support and the amount of subsidies can reach 600-700 euros.

At the level of legislation, German farmers are not required to observe crop rotations, but in fact 90% adhere to the established rules and receive subsidies (300 euros/ha). In one year the European Union spends about 4 billion euros on direct payments to German farmers.

Within the second pillar, the financing of subsidies is shared – from the budget of the European Union and the member state, and legal support is also  provided by the EU and the member state.

Taking into account the EU regulatory framework, each member state has developed rules governing rural development policies for the period from 2007 to 2013, as well as policy measures for the disposal of member states and regions set out in Council Regulation (EU) No. 1698/2005:

• improving the competitiveness of agriculture and forestry;
• improving the environment and rural areas;
• improving the quality of life in rural areas and promoting rural economic diversification.

State or regional farming regulations differ or have significantly stricter requirements, as opposed to the rules in the first pillar. But following them, the farmer, in addition to direct payments within the first pillar, receives additional subsidies within the second pillar. For example, if a 5-saw crop rotation is observed, a farmer can count on a subsidy of 65 euros/ha, and when using cover crops – 70.

The question arises: How is compliance with soil protection rules monitored in Germany, such as crop rotation? In fact, everything is very simple. At the beginning of the year, before sowing, the farmer provides the specialist of the agrarian Chamber of maps with materials with the placement of crops that he  plans to grow this year in the fields. This information is entered in the database. In autumn, the farmer re-provides information on the fact of grown crops. In addition, agricultural chambers make random checks of the accuracy of the information provided using aerial photography. About 3-5% of farms that are randomly selected are subject to verification.

In 2013, the 7-year period  (2007-2013) of economic planning of Agriculture in the EU ends and new regulatory documents for the next period are currently being prepared. It is expected that the volume of subsidies in the EU will increase slightly.

Consequently, the mechanism for regulating soil protection issues in Germany has shown that economic incentives are a sufficiently effective measure for the effective implementation of state policy in the field of rational use and preservation of soils in good condition.

V.M. Panasenko, the candidate of Agricultural Sciences.