Some Features of West German Policy for Improving the Agricultural Structure
1964
Alexander, D. J.
This paper is a factual description of agricultural structural improvement policy as applied in West Germany. The three major items of long‐term investment by the state to create better income potential for farmers are consolidation of fragmented holdings, farm resettlement, and farm area enlargement. An underlying difficulty is scarcity of land, either for resettled farms or to enlarge existing ones. Putting into effect local minimum norms of size of farm business is a major problem for those engaged in the practical work of farm structural reorganisation. Apart from intervention by the authorities in favour of selected areas and farmer applicants, other means are used to influence structural change. Improvement of the man‐land ratio is central to the improvement of the income efficiency of German farming. As coercion is avoided as much as possible, future success of West German policy will largely depend on rate of migration out of full‐time farm employment.
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