Agriculture & rural areas

"Modern and efficient – the farming industry in Germany has a bright future!"(Federal Minister Ilse Aigner)

The German farming industry has many different sides: committed farmers produce healthy, diverse foods and manage a rich cultivated landscape between dykes and the Alps, between the Hohes Venn and Oderbruch (Oder swamp). In the face of a growing global population and the limited sources of fossil fuels, food supply and energy recovery from renewable resources take on increasing importance. The German farming industry is a modern economic sector which, at the same time, is aware of its traditions. Around 1.25 million part-time or full-time workers produce goods worth approximately Euro 40 billion on 370,000 farms.

Furthermore, the farming industry provides additional services for society, nature and the environment. Nonetheless, liberalisation and technical progress exert considerable pressure on the farming industry. It must constantly adapt to changing framework conditions and, in this way, secure jobs and value-added in rural areas. In this context it receives specific support from the Federal Government, the Länder and the EU.