Chamber of Agriculture (Germany)

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Seal of the Moor Commission of the Pomeranian Chamber of Agriculture

Chambers of Agriculture , also called chambers of farmers , are institutions that represent and regulate the interests of agriculture and forestry ; the Association of Chambers of Agriculture acts as the umbrella organization .

In the northern and western states of the former British zone of occupation ( Agricultural Association , Chamber of Agriculture of North Rhine-Westphalia , Chamber of Agriculture Schleswig-Holstein ) are Landwirtschaftskammern public corporations , which, funded by its members when carrying out functions of the agricultural administration.

Mandatory members are members of the so-called green professions :

By transferring sovereign tasks , the chambers of agriculture provide the agricultural administration there.

Representing the interests of the named professions is not the task of the chambers of agriculture.

In the southern and eastern German states there are no independent chambers, but a direct state agricultural administration in the form of agricultural offices .

organization

Administration building in Schleswig-Holstein

The highest decision-making body is the general or plenary assembly. The members are elected, perform their mandate on a voluntary basis and provide guidelines. The Chamber Assembly elects the President as chairman of the General Assembly and the Main Committee; he exercises the highest level of supervision .

The director of the Chamber of Agriculture is the superior of the civil servants, employees and workers and at the same time an official of the respective federal state.

The work of the chambers of agriculture is financed by contributions from the respective federal state for the assigned state tasks, membership fees of the farms (the so-called levy ) and income from services.

tasks

The tasks of the chambers of agriculture include promoting and supervising agriculture including forestry , horticulture, fruit growing and viticulture as well as inland fishing in the areas of production technology, marketing, training, advice and research. The range of tasks is stipulated by law and can be summarized as follows:

  • Promote economic efficiency, environmental compatibility and consumer protection in agricultural production and work towards area-related and species-appropriate animal husbandry.
  • Carry out vocational training and further professional training for all those working in agriculture and support the companies in their sustainable development through advice.
  • To provide advice on issues relating to the sale of agricultural products and to promote regional marketing.
  • To develop additional production, sales and income potential, particularly in the case of renewable raw materials and renewable energies.
  • To convey the concerns of sustainable agriculture and the special importance of agriculture for environmental, nature, animal and consumer protection to society.

history

In the 19th century, because of the dismantling of import duties on cattle, wood and grain and a global grain glut, the proceeds from agricultural products collapsed . In order to promote domestic agriculture and to maintain its economic performance , the Prussian provinces made it possible to set up chambers of agriculture. Progressive farmers believed that this would give them greater weight in politics and the public.

In 1849 the Chamber of Agriculture was founded as the first German Chamber of Agriculture in the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen . The next one followed in Prussia in 1894 . Between 1900 and 1911 similar institutions were founded in eleven other states in the German Empire . This is how local agricultural associations came into being and, in the 1920s, for example, an agricultural working group in Middle Franconia . In 1927 chambers of agriculture existed in all countries of the German Reich as cooperative interest groups for the profession.

During the Nazi dictatorship, the Chambers of Agriculture were in the Reich incorporated and thus brought into line .

After the war, chambers of agriculture were only set up again in a few federal states. In Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg, on the other hand, a direct state agricultural administration was established. The Soviet occupation zone was also given a state central administration without special farmers' representation. The Hessian chambers of agriculture were converted into a state agricultural administration in the 1970s.

Web links

Commons : Chamber of Agriculture  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Bremen Law Gazette 1849, pp. 179–182. See also the commemorative publication: 150 Years of the Bremen Chamber of Agriculture 1849–1999, ed. from the Bremen Agricultural Association e. V., Bremen 1999
  2. ↑ Hans-Peter Ullmann : The mobilization of agricultural interests: Founding and politics of the “Federation of Farmers” in interest groups in Germany (Edition Suhrkamp; Vol. 283: New historical library), Suhrkamp Verlag, 1988, ISBN 3-518-11283-X , P. 86
  3. ^ Max Döllner : History of the development of the city of Neustadt an der Aisch up to 1933. Ph. CW Schmidt, Neustadt ad Aisch 1950, p. 429 f.