Wachsen oder weichen!? Eine Analyse der agrarstrukturellen Debatte im Kontext der EU-Agrarpolitik nach 2020

Abstract

Die Zahl landwirtschaftlicher Betriebe in Deutschland und Europa nimmt ab und ihre durchschnittliche Größe zu. Besteht Anlass für eine stärkere Unterstützung kleinerer Betriebe? Agrarpolitische Interessensgruppen deuten den Größenstrukturwandel unterschiedlich und ziehen verschiedene politische Schlussfolgerungen.Structural changes in agriculture are frequently considered problematic. Concerns are expressed about the declining number of farms and the growth of the farms that remain. A structuring content analysis of 50 position papers on the post-2020 Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) reform shows that the development of agricultural-sized structures is interpreted as a problem of both equity and multifunctionality. The respective positionings overlap when it comes to the principle of performance equity and comes together around the goal of maintaining as many (small) farms as possible. It is either assumed that small enterprises would benefit if subsidies were tied to the provision of public goods, or that promoting the existence of small farms would automatically lead to their provision. Existing studies can only partially prove or refute such connections. What remains is the need for public negotiations regarding the societal functions which agriculture should assume, and with what priority.

‘Factory farming’? Public perceptions of farm sizes and sustainability in animal farming

“…Due to large economies of scale, farm sizes are expected to further increase [4]. This indicates that agricultural policy that aims to preserve small farming structures and keeping farm numbers stable will be expensive.…”

“…This leads to pressure on farmers to transform the sector towards more sustainability under insecurity, resulting in discontent and even protest [1,2]. Farm size plays an important role in public discussions surrounding agriculture and critiques on livestock farming [3,4,5]. The public often perceives large-scale farming as being detrimental for animal welfare and achieving lower sustainability levels [5][6][7][8].…”

“…The public often perceives large-scale farming as being detrimental for animal welfare and achieving lower sustainability levels [5][6][7][8]. Contrastingly, scientific studies show that farm size is not a good indicator for sustainability [4,[9][10][11][12]. Both large as well as small farms have their advantages and disadvantages concerning sustainability aspects.…”

Social dimensions of multifunctional agriculture in Europe - towards an interdisciplinary framework

“…Although the effects of agricultural production on ecosystems are now widely acknowledged, agricultural policies do not yet sufficiently target these effects and adequate governance mechanisms need further refinement (Dik et al, 2021;Pe'er et al, 2019). At the same time, diverse social and cultural benefits are attributed to agriculture and problematized in the context of changing farm size structures (Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development, 2014;Matthews, 2019Matthews, , 2015Nowack et al, 2019). In contrast to the discourse on the ecological effects of agriculture, claims about the social effects of agriculture often remain general and vague.…”