PROSPECTS FOR AGRICULTURE ON POOR LOCATIO NS IN FORMER EAST-GERMANY WITH SPECIAL REGARD TO AIMS OF NATURE CONSERVATION

In the presented contribution economic and ecological aspects of diffe rent variants of farming are compared at the example of an agricultura l cooperative on a low mountain range location. It concerns convention al farming, ecological farming and a way of farming which is adjusted to special aims of nature conservation. The three variants are examine d each before and after realisation of the agrarian reform in the EC. Furthermore there's a special reference to the influence of public gra nts on economic success in the different models. The analysis shows th at with inclusion of public grants the profit is big enough in all thr ee variants to keep up farming. The agrarian reform generally brings a n Improvement of economical values in comparison to the former situati on. Regarding farm income, the ecological way of farming can be seen t he to be the best despite the assumption of a conventional price level . The variant with special respect to nature conservation aims is seco nd best. Public grants and extensification programmes have a great. im portance for economic success in these situations. If these payments w ould not exist, from the economic point of view conventional farming s hould be prefered. Looking at productivity of labour, which is special ly important in farms with hired labour, the ecological way of farming is favourable, too. But the nature conservation adapted variant nearl y reaches the same result. Again conventional farming turns out most d isadvantageous. On the other hand the need for public grant to keep up business is distinctly higher in the first two models in comparison t o conventional farming. According to tendency the changing agrarian po licy will lead to a more extensive way of farming. On poor locations p ublic grants and extensification programmes are specially effective. T here they can make an essential contribution to keep up farming. There by an overcovering and ressource saving land use, which is aspired out of ecological reasons, is supported and the realisation of special ai ms concerning nature conservation can also be relieved.