Agricultural policy and rural development
Since the creation of the European Union (EU), the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) has been one of its central political tasks. Due to changing framework conditions and new challenges, it has gone through various phases in recent decades. Initially, agricultural policy was characterised by price support and market organisations. In the meantime, it has become increasingly clear that agriculture must provide social services alongside the production of agricultural goods. The tasks of agricultural policy therefore also include preserving cultural landscapes, protecting the environment, ensuring animal welfare and preserving cultural heritage.
Agricultural policy has been one of our core issues since the founding of our institute in 1956. In particular, we monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of policy instruments in the second pillar of the CAP. Our main focus is on measures for the environment friendly development of agriculture and the promotion of rural development. In addition, we deal with environmental aspects in the first pillar of the CAP and with concepts of how services in agriculture that go beyond agricultural production can be compensated in a fair manner.
Contact person/s at IfLS: Jörg Schramek (schramek[at]ifls.de, +49 (0) 69/9726683-14) und Simone Sterly (sterly[at]ifls.de, +49 (0) 69/9726683-15)