The problem: The stagnating income in agriculture leads to real losses in the purchasing power of farming families, especially in conventional farms. Even expanding or intensifying production does not solve the problem; it only pushes the critical end point back a few years into the future. The expansion of production, which is only possible in favorable locations, leads to the dependence of the machine industry due to the increasing workload, and the intensification puts a strain on the relationship between nature and agriculture. Both aspects are diametrically opposed to most social megatrends and the challenges of climate change. Organic farms have successfully avoided the problem, while conventional businesses have not yet been offered a suitable exit strategy. Without measures, the facts foreseeably point to the loss of the manufacturing, conventional family business in Austria.
The proposal: Conventional agriculture moves back to the roots of good agricultural practice by integrating the entire value chain. This aligns its performance goals with the possibilities of the location and optimizes production by using natural resources. Feed, fertilizers and pesticides do not serve to increase performance, but rather follow the stabilizing and protective ideas of integrated production. Central social issues expand the field of action. This document describes 9 measures for positioning conventional businesses in location-appropriate agriculture and a further 5 packages of measures for institutional anchoring, pricing and the funding model.
The group of authors' wish is a broad but targeted discussion of the draft in agriculture and the market economy, politics and society.
