Food security, but also climate protection and biodiversity – that's what the G7 agriculture ministers are calling for. A building block for this can be “solidarity agriculture”: City residents finance a farm and work with them.
“Solidarity Agriculture” in Potsdam
The rapeseed is blooming. On the way from Berlin to Potsdam, some fields are so huge that the bright yellow on the horizon blends into the blue of the sky. 3.5 million tons of oilseed, which is also coveted by biofuel manufacturers and animal feeders, are produced in Germany every year. The rapeseed farmers can look forward to a lucrative harvest. The price for a ton has risen from 420 euros at the beginning of 2021 to currently more than 920 euros.
Because of the war in Ukraine, wheat, corn and other types of grain have also become significantly more expensive. 43 million tons of grain and oilseed were harvested in Germany last year. Only 20 percent of it is used for human nutrition. 58 percent is used as animal feed, nine percent of the harvest is used to produce biofuel, the rest goes to industry and seed production.
Organic tomatoes from Spain
When Lene Waschke talks about these numbers, the organic farmer's gaze darkens. “If we were to produce organic vegetables instead of rapeseed and fodder maize on the arable land in Brandenburg, the yield would be sufficient to feed everyone in Berlin and Brandenburg,” the 45-year-old calculates. “Instead, Berliners drive their SUVs to the supermarket and think they are doing something good if they buy organic tomatoes that have been produced in Spain using an irresponsible amount of water and then transported to Germany.”
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In May, rapeseed is in full bloom in Germany
Waschke used to work as a teacher. Five years ago, together with her husband, a farmer, she founded a “solidarity agriculture” (SoLaWi) on the outskirts of Potsdam. The “BAUERei Grube”, as the farm is called, is run by an association in which 150 Potsdam households are members. They share the harvest, paying between 60 and 150 euros per month, depending on income, and they also work on the farm in their free time.
The farmer's risk is shared by everyone
80 kinds of vegetables and some cereals are grown. There are chickens and turkeys, sheep and two donkeys. The court kitchen cooks daily for everyone who is there at the moment. Apart from Waschke and her husband, there are only two employees. The budget is not enough for more. “150 euros a month is the maximum people are willing to pay,” says Waschke.
< p>Lene Waschke with the tomato plants that are now being planted
The farm sees itself as a community of responsibility, everyone bears the farmer's risk together. If the harvest is good, then the green plastic boxes are filled to the brim with potatoes, chard, leeks, sweetcorn, spinach and much more. If deer nibble the hearts out of the lettuce, the carrot fly nests in the root vegetables or a storm snaps the young tomato plants, then one or the other is missing from the menu.
Humus build-up against drought
< p>The fields of “BAUERei” belong to only ten percent of arable land in Germany on which organic farming is practiced. Artificial fertilizers and pesticides are taboo, and a lot of the work is done by hand. “We only harvest what is really needed, everything else stays on the field and is allowed to rot,” explains 18-year-old Anne, letting her gaze wander over the fields. After graduating from high school, she does a voluntary ecological year on the farm.
After her voluntary year, Anne wants to go to work in agriculture in a developing country
The leaves and rootstock of the rhubarb remain, and the leaves of the potatoes remain. All biomass that has previously filtered CO2, i.e. carbon dioxide, from the air. Other plants such as peas, lentils and other legumes bind nitrogen from the air in their roots. This not only serves to protect the climate, but also creates fertilizer and a layer of humus that protects the fertile soil from wind erosion and drying out.
There is no rain
In Berlin and Brandenburg, however, it is becoming increasingly dry. Farmers are already talking about the fifth year of drought in a row. “Sometimes you can see tornadoes on the fields in the neighborhood, carrying away bone-dry earth,” says Anne. “Thanks to our hummus structure, that doesn't happen.” A windbreak is being stacked up from dry wood by students. It is planned to plant trees in the field to provide shade.
Without irrigation, the field would hardly anything grow
Nevertheless, it is not possible without additional irrigation. The “BAUERei” is lucky, there is a well on the edge of the 13 hectares of arable land. The hum of the compressor is mixed with the rhythmic sound of a sprinkler system watering newly planted seedlings. “We try to keep the water in the soil by growing taproots and other plants that channel water into deep layers of the soil,” explains Lene Waschke. “These are ancient techniques that were used in the past and have been lost in conventional agriculture.”
Exchange with Kenya
A knowledge that she teaches everyone who is interested in it. Three days a week she looks after students on the farm, who regularly help in the fields and in the farm kitchen and learn how to produce and process food.
Lene Waschke with Potsdam schoolgirls
Recently, Waschke even exchanged ideas with Kenyan farmers at a virtual conference. “It was about how 'supportive agriculture' can be an option for smallholders in Kenya.” The conditions are similar. “In Kenya, too, there are large cities that could be fed from the immediate vicinity,” explains Waschke.
Meaningful task
The biggest challenge in both Germany and Kenya is marketing the idea and winning over members who don't just want to consume, but want to work together. This is difficult for working people, they only have the weekend. In the “BAUERei” pensioners take on the task of transporting the vegetables to the depot in Potsdam, where the members can pick up their boxes. “The older people have a meaningful job and we replace the money for the petrol,” says Waschke.
Because it's getting warmer and warmer, artichokes are also thriving in Brandenburg
The 45-year-old is passionate about her idea, you can tell. “Every part of the city, every canteen, every caterer has its 'SoLaWi',” that's what she wants. But is that realistic? Can organic farming, with its lower yields compared to conventional farming, even feed enough people and can people be inspired by a concept that requires their cooperation? “You need a lot of idealism. You can't earn money and become rich as a farmer,” admits Waschke. “But regional organic farming is the only way to farm in a climate-friendly manner. Nothing will work in the future.”