Ministry of the Environment, Conservation, Agriculture and Consumer Protection of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia Agri-environmental Measures in North Rhine- Westfalia – situation and perspective Christof Weins Ministry of the Environment and Conservation, Agriculture and Consumer Protection of the State of North Rhine-Westfalia, Germany

Ministry of the Environment, Conservation, Agriculture and Consumer Protection of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia NRW – a region at the centre of Europe Cologne Dortmund Duesseldorf Bonn Rome Madrid Berlin Paris London

Ministry of the Environment, Conservation, Agriculture and Consumer Protection of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia NRW - facts and figures Population  18 million, approx. 6 million in rural areas  520 inhabitants per square kilometre Land  Total 3.4 million hectares  1.5 million ha used for farming Agriculture sector  Number of farms:  Average size 28 ha  50pc of farms are owner‘s main source of income  Arable land/grassland ratio: 70:30

Ministry of the Environment, Conservation, Agriculture and Consumer Protection of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia Selected problems Economical and structural problems  Relatively small farms in average  Few alternatives for income  Undeveloped vertical and horizontal integration of the food-chain  Environmental impact of farming  Regional problems with nutrients and pollutants entering waters and air  Soil compaction and erosion in endangered areas  Decrease in grassland in regions with high numbers of livestock  Loss of biological diversity (e.g. habitats, species, genetic resources) Conflicting land uses  15 hectares of land cleared every day  15 per cent of NRW territory zoned as water protection areas‘  5 per cent zoned as nature protection areas

Ministry of the Environment, Conservation, Agriculture and Consumer Protection of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia I Improving production and marketing structures  Support for investment in agricultural holdings and setting-up aid for young farmers  Training  Improving processing and marketing of agricultural products II Measures to improve development  Reparcelling  Setting up of farm relief and farm management services  Renovation and development of villages  Diversification of income sources  Allocation of agricultural water resources III Agri-environmental and compensation measures and forestry  Compensatory allowances for less-favoured areas and areas with environmental restrictions  Agri-environmental measures and conservation contracts  Forestry RDP in NRW – main elements

Ministry of the Environment, Conservation, Agriculture and Consumer Protection of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia RDP in NRW - financing. Funding Focus2000 – 2006 In Million Euros Funding Volume In Million Euros p.a. I Better production and marketing structures II Measures to improve rural development III Agri-environmental and compensation measures, forestry including: Agri-environmental and compensation measures Total788112

Ministry of the Environment, Conservation, Agriculture and Consumer Protection of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia Articles 16 and 33 Compensation for areas with environmental restrictions (Art. 16)  Grassland  1,700 farms totalling some 14,000 hectares  approx. 1,5 mil € (EU und NRW) in 2004 Protection of the environment, landscape conservation (Art. 33)  Support for land purchases e.g.  Habitats improvement and care, nature observation Model project (Art. 33)  currently 8 model projects  approx. 1mil € in 2004

Ministry of the Environment, Conservation, Agriculture and Consumer Protection of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia Agri-environmental measures (Art. 22) – targets  Reduction of the use of fertilisers and pesticides  Protection of abiotic resources, especially soil and waters  Ensuring a high proportion of permanent grassland  Promoting livestock operations that are in line with environmental and animal welfare concerns  Improving conditions for endangered animal and plant species  Conservation and development of the cultural landscape  Production of high-quality, sustainable or organically produced foods

Ministry of the Environment, Conservation, Agriculture and Consumer Protection of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia Current state of funding (September 2005)  290,000 ha funding volume (Agri-environmental measures and conservation contracts)  20pc of farm land in NRW  120,000 stock units (livestock-related agri-environmental measures )  13,000 participating farms  10,000 fresh applications totalling 75,000 hectares and 130,000 stock units in 2005  53 million euros paid in 2004 (EU, Federal, State)

Ministry of the Environment, Conservation, Agriculture and Consumer Protection of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia Funding modules and volume (September 2005) Grassland extensification 86,000 ha Measures against erosion 63,000 ha Organic farming 45,000 ha Crop rotation diversity 42,000 ha Grassland extensification (inidividual plots) 6,500 ha Long term set-aside 2,000 ha Extensification of riverbanks (appr. 2,300 km) 3,500 ha Extensification of arable land and perm. crops 1,000 ha Wildflower strips (approx. 800 km) 700 ha Solid-manure farming (77,000 SU) Dairy cattle on grazing land (45,000 SU) Contractual conservation 28,000 ha

Ministry of the Environment, Conservation, Agriculture and Consumer Protection of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia Breakdown of 2004 funding

Ministry of the Environment, Conservation, Agriculture and Consumer Protection of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia Agri- environmental measures, contractual conservation and compensation payments 1994 – 2004

Ministry of the Environment, Conservation, Agriculture and Consumer Protection of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia Outlook for the period 2007 – Support of agri-environmental measures will play an important role in the next funding period. 2.Adaption of commitments and premiums, due to the new context of GAP (e.g. decoupling and cross compliance). 3.Shifting the efficieny of meaures to solve environmental problems. But: Uncertainty of the funding for the period 2007 to 2013 makes it difficult to plan in detail.