Good Practice - Project
Funding cooperative nature conservation on farms in Saxony-Anhalt
CAP-funded farm actions at the landscape scale in Germany protect the rare European hamster and other important nature species through cooperation and networking measures.
General information
Beneficiary type
- Non-governmental organisation
CAP specific objective
- SO6. Biodiversity and farmed landscapes
Intervention type
- Art. 70 – ENVCLIM
Summary
Building on new, tailor-made support instruments under the CAP, an NGO in Saxony-Anhalt established innovative cooperation networks that enable German farmers to work collectively for biodiversity. The CAP framework created a strong incentive to organise agri-environment-climate measures at the landscape scale, allowing farmers to optimise both ecological impact and practical implementation.
This project helps farmers, agricultural authorities and nature conservation experts to design and implement coordinated measures targeting priority species such as the red kite and the European hamster. Eight new agri-environment-climate measures were developed and strategically applied in five highly productive arable regions.
Through these cooperatives, farmers benefit from coordinated planning and shared implementation, while nature benefits from targeted, connected habitats. Between 2024 and 2028, five cooperatives will operate, with 63 farms already implementing measures on 1 450 hectares in 2025 alone, demonstrating how CAP support can unlock collective action for nature in Germany and Europe.
Results
Project results helped to:
- Launch five new regional farm nature cooperatives.
- Involve more than 60 farms in the first phase.
- Manage 4 087 hectares of arable land with measures on 1 451 hectares.
- Promote endangered animal and plant species in agricultural areas at the landscape level.
- Optimise targeting of measures through coordination between farmers and nature conservation.
- Achieve regional decisions for calculating the farm payments.
- Reduce the risk of sanctions through technical support and advice for farmers.
- Reduce the project’s administrative burden by bundling applications.
Promoter
Cultural Landscape Foundation Saxony-Anhalt
Funding
CAP support: 5 000 000 (EUR)
Resources
Links
Context
The European hamster and the red kite are two key species for the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. Both animals’ main habitats are found in intensive arable farming regions. Saxony-Anhalt has a special responsibility for the protection of the European hamster, as it is home to the largest remaining contiguous habitat of this species, which is endangered with extinction in Germany.
While the red kite population is currently stable, the situation of the European hamster, which lives almost exclusively in fields with highly productive soils, has deteriorated.
To support these important species, new agri-environmental climate measures were developed that provide more food and protection from predators. Such conservation measures included cereal harvesting, grain cultivation with catch crops and the cultivation of small-grained legumes. Also, the creation of arable herb strips was promoted by the new eco-measures to promote rare and endangered arable wild herbs (which have almost disappeared on highly productive sites with intensive land use). These were cultivated extensively during the project funding period.
A preparatory project (‘Cooperative nature conservation in agriculture model project’) ran from 2020 to 2023 and implemented five cooperative nature conservation measures on 635 hectares. Experiences gained from this first cooperative were then used to expand and consolidate cooperative nature conservation in Saxony-Anhalt in the current CAP funding period.
The five nature cooperatives established since 2024 now include 63 farms that implement cooperative measures on 1 451 hectares, thus enhancing the nature conservation value of a total of 4 087 hectares.
Objectives
The project aims to ensure the efficient use of EU funds and to motivate farmers on high-yield arable land to implement targeted biodiversity measures. Specific objectives included:
- Conserve animal and plant species in the agricultural landscape (European hamsters, farmland birds, insects, wild field herbs).
- Increase the total area of implemented biodiversity measures in intensively used arable farming regions.
- Motivate a larger number of farmers to participate in the implementation of biodiversity measures.
- Improve the dialogue between stakeholders in the fields of agriculture and nature conservation.
- Inspire farmers to implement biodiversity measures in other contexts.
Activities
Project actions involved:
- Participating in the state's ideas competition to establish cooperatives for the implementation of agri-environmental and climate measures (102 farmers interested).
- Establishing and registering the five new cooperatives.
- Carrying out further preliminary work organising the cooperatives’ start-up.
- Implementing five regional information events for the profession.
- Developing, coordinating and approving five nature conservation plans with analysis of the landscape areas.
- Researching species occurrences of the target species and species-specific requirements.
- Populating GIS data and setting up website maps for interested farmers to view the potential areas covered by the five cooperatives.
- Finalising collective action proposals for measures from farmers.
- Preparing and concluding collective action contracts with farmers.
- Providing advisory support for farmers during the installation of measures in Spring 2024.
- Inspecting areas and revising five nature conservation plans.
- Preparing and submitting conversion applications, new applications and extension applications by June 2024.
Main results
The project results were made possible through the foundation's networking efforts. Since 2016, it has striven to improve cooperation between farmers and conservationists in practice and administration. The Foundation's network has steadily expanded ever since, with trusting partnerships gradually developing through the implementation of various projects. Results from this helped to:
- Establish five new regional farm nature cooperatives.
- Involve more than 60 farms in the first phase.
- Manage 4 087 hectares of arable land with measures on 1 451 hectares.
- Promote endangered animal and plant species in agricultural areas at landscape level.
- Optimise targeting of measures through coordination between farmers and nature conservation.
- Achieve regional decisions for calculating the farm payments.
- Reduce the risk of sanctions through technical support and advice for farmers.
- Reduce the project’s administrative burden by bundling applications.
Key lessons
- Scope allows CAP funding to be carefully targeted and meet regionalised needs in Germany.
- Collective farmer action involving networking and capacity building of peers can build a critical mass, allowing more to be done using less.
- The project shows that these German farmers are becoming more interested in enhancing biodiversity on their fields.
- Agriculture and nature conservation can work together in practice and in administration.
Together with the Saxony-Anhalt Cultural Landscape Foundation, we have developed innovative solutions for our farm in order to integrate more nature conservation measures into agricultural production. Parts of our production areas are integrated into various projects and are therefore an important part of the increasingly networked structures. I think it is important that larger overall areas are considered and developed when planning nature conservation measures. Some areas are reserved for the preservation of biodiversity; agricultural yield is no longer the main focus here. In addition to appropriate remuneration, it is crucial for the successful implementation of nature conservation measures that all parties involved communicate with each other on an equal footing.
By working with the foundation, you get good ideas for implementing nature conservation and biodiversity measures that also fit into practical farm operations. In addition, with the help of this support, plants can be grown in the operational environment that will last in the long term and have a positive impact on the local flora and fauna.