Agriculture
In order to secure a sustainable future supply of agricultural products to the population, it is necessary to reverse the worldwide trend towards the intensification of farming and increasing use of chemicals.
German farmers, therefore, are focusing increasingly on ecological farming methods, efficient production processes, such as precision farming, and on white biotechnology. The widespread application of innovative methods and techniques in the fields and animal barns is essential, if we are to reduce the many negative effects of agriculture on all aspects of the environment to a level that is supportable in the long term, and so protect natural resources and maintain bio-diversity and competitiveness.
A wide range of sample projects on this Internet gateway illustrate practicable measures for integrated environmental protection:
• Various applications of sensor technology are shown. Used in combine harvesters, for instance, these can record crop quality on a representative basis. They can also be used in cultivators or hot foam applicators for weed control without herbicides.
• Three types of eco-efficient fertilizers are also shown, which provide plants with the correct quantity of important nutrients such as nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus.
• The anaerobic fixed bed technology example shows how highly contaminated waste water from palm oil production can be treated effectively, while the biogases produced are used to provide the energy required for the process.
• The development and industrial manufacture of solar-supported drying units for agriculture and forestry products is also shown, using Brazil as an example.
Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection (BMELV)