National Land Agency BPN - Republic of Indonesia (1995):
International Workshop on the Implementation of Rural Land Consolidation

10.2. Rural Development in Germany

10.2.1 Framework Conditions

The picture which you too certainly have of Germany is that of an industrialized nation with a high standard of technological development. The products are mostly manufactured in densely populated urban areas and are without a doubt a basis for the prosperity of the people. However, this picture is only one side of the coin!

The flip side is:

More than 80 % of Germany's surface area consists of rural areas, in which about 50 % of inhabitants live. 55 % of the surface area (17 million ha) are being used for agricultural purposes. A further 29 % of the surface area (11 million ha) are forests.

In Germany, nearly 5 million people are directly or indirectly involved in providing people with foodstuffs and beverages or producing vegetable raw materials in the non-food sector. One job in seven is dependent on agriculture.

These figures show that rural development affects the:

• economical,
• ecological,
• social and
• cultural foundations of the life of the whole population.

Structural change in agriculture is taking place in Germany affecting not only agriculture but also having far-reaching impacts on land use as well as on rural areas and their villages overall.

German reunification and the reform of the common agricultural policy in the European Union in conjunction with the international GATT resolutions have changed the framework conditions for agricultural policy.

Land use is not free of conflicts, either. The interests of agriculture compete with the demands:

• of urban construction and settlement development,
• of road traffic,
• of resource protection,
• of nature conservation and landscape tending,
• of leisure and recreation.

In rural communities, there are considerable development deficits. Let us listen to the competent opinions of the mayors-of rural communities:

Fig 1: Problems in the country

You can see from this that:

Keeping rural areas viable and making villages attractive to live in are essential tasks.

This is also and particularly true of highly industrialized nations such as Germany. We must not neglect our rural areas!