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IAK Sitepackage

Creation of an overall concept for "agriculture in the urban area of Leipzig"

Duration:
05/2020 - 05/2022
Client:
City of Leipzig, Department of Economics, Labor and Digital Affairs, Real Estate Office
URL:
https://www.leipzig.de/bauen-und-wohnen/staedtische-immobilien-und-grundstuecke/landwirtschaft-im-stadtgebiet/konzept-fuer-mehr-oekologische-landwirtschaft
Services:
Type:
Domestic
Client type:
Public
Regions:
Germany

Approximately 34% or 10,000 ha of Leipzig's land are "agricultural land". About 1,800 ha of this belongs to the city of Leipzig, which leases it to about 60 tenants for agricultural use. 6% of the land is farmed organically. In the future, the city of Leipzig would like to focus more on sustainability when leasing the city's agricultural land. For this reason, IAK Agrar Consulting GmbH was commissioned to develop a corresponding award procedure that would define ecological, social and economic framework conditions for agricultural leases.

The concept should:

  • take into account current social requirements and focus on agricultural land whose tenants are farms of various sizes and organizational or economic forms. In the future, leases should be awarded on the basis of criteria that are desired by society in general and can be measured objectively. The city of Leipzig hopes that this will also have a spin-off effect on the way other areas not owned by the city are managed.
  • improve the exchange between city and countryside, e.g. through a dialogue between the city population and agriculture, appropriate school education and the strengthening of regional food production.
  • adapt the management of city-owned agricultural land with a view to positive effects on climate protection. For example, soil composition and fertility are to be improved.

The following topics were addressed:

  • Development of a set of criteria for the evaluation of lease offers
  • Development or selection of a procedure for objective evaluation of sustainability aspects
  • Evaluation of legal aspects associated with an adapted allocation of city-owned land
  • Identification and evaluation of alternative actions for more environmentally sound management (e.g., reduction of pesticide use, establishment of landscape structure elements)
  • Identification of rounded-up areas of the city of Leipzig that could be available for long-term allocation
  • Increasing the degree of transparency for society