Agricultural Policy Meets Biodiversity: CAP4GI Wraps Up with Success in Baden-Württemberg

01 April 2025 - Tailored support measures that address regional and farm-specific needs, dedicated advisors who can clearly assess the benefits and challenges of biodiversity-focused initiatives, reduced sanction risks for voluntary actions, and financial incentives that make a real difference—these are just a few of the practical solutions developed by farmers from three regions in Baden-Württemberg.

Farmers are eager to preserve and promote biodiversity but recognise that changes to current funding policies at state and EU levels are essential to make this possible. On March 6, 2025, the CAP4GI project team of the Lake Constance Foundation and farmers presented together their recommendations to the Ministry of Food, Rural Areas, and Consumer Protection of Baden-Württemberg. Their hope? That the proposed solutions will not only be reviewed for feasibility at the state level but also inspire broader application.

Three Years of Collaboration Conclude

The recommendations were handed over during the final state-level meeting of the CAP4GI exchange process in Baden-Württemberg. Over the course of nearly three years, farmers cane together in the regions Lake Constance, Hohenlohe, and the Northern Upper Rhine to discuss how to improve implementation conditions and overcome barriers to biodiversity efforts while maintaining economic viability. These regional discussions were complememted by annual state-level platform meetings, which fostered connections between regions and provided a broader perspective. The Lake Constance Foundation organised and facilitated these exchanges.

The challenges and solutions identified by the farmers were wide-ranging. They included improving collaboration between stakeholders during the planning and implementation of agri-environmental funding, enhancing advisory services, refining specific biodiversity measures, and ensuring fair and effective financial incentives. A detailed summary of these solutions has been compiled and published  (in German only).

A Positive Outcome and a Clear Call to Action

“The global community has set ambitious and critical conservation goals. Here in Germany, it’s vital for policymakers to take these practical suggestions on board and make it easier to integrate conservation efforts into the agricultural framework,” said Carolina Wackerhagen, project lead at the Lake Constance Foundation, during the closing meeting in Stuttgart. The event brought together representatives from ministries, farming associations, and conservation organisations, where the project findings were presented. The meeting also featured Dr. Rainer Oppermann from the Institute for Agroecology and Biodiversity (ifab) who highlighted the ecological impact of agri-environmental measures.

Christine Kewes, project manager at the Lake Constance Foundation, reflected on the success of the collaboration: “The farmers who participated in our project felt truly heard because we created a space for meaningful dialogue and joint problem-solving. We hope our results will encourage even more exchange between the agricultural and conservation sectors.”

A Selection of Proposed Solutions at a Glance

Consideration of Regional and Farm-Specific Conditions

The range of measures offered should be broad enough to include suitable options for every type of farm. Farmers have expressed a desire for certain details of the proposed measures to be decided at the state level or lower, where possible. This would allow factors such as soil conditions, altitude, and climate to be better accounted for in deadlines, or regional species to be supported through dedicated regional budgets. The rationale is that decisions about specifics—such as deadlines or target species—made at the national level often fail to adequately reflect regional differences. To address this, flexible funding sources should be created, potentially eliminating the need for the FAKT funding application process.

Accessible and Competent Advisory Services

Farmers have also proposed improvements in communication and exchange. Measures, funding opportunities, and advisory services should be communicated more widely and effectively. Dedicated advisors who can assess the impact of agri-environmental and climate measures (AECM) should be easily accessible. Additionally, there is a need for enhanced monitoring of the actual effectiveness of measures.

Greater Participation in Decision-Making through Platforms

Farmers and other stakeholders should be actively involved in the planning and evaluation of agri-environmental funding. At present, they feel their voices are not sufficiently heard. The project team sees dialogue-oriented participation formats as a way to bring together agricultural practices, relevant authorities, conservation organisations, advisory services, and scientific expertise to redesign agri-environmental funding. For the implementation phase, where there is currently a lack of effective mechanisms for practical feedback and cross-agency exchange, regional advisory boards could fill this gap.

Mitigating Sanction Risks

Mistakes made during voluntary nature and environmental conservation measures should not result in sanctions applied to the entire farm. Thresholds for minor infractions should be raised, and sanctions should not be imposed for issues caused by weather conditions or third-party interference.

Reducing Bureaucratic Hurdles – Openness to Innovative Compensation Models

Farmers have expressed openness to testing innovative models such as public goods premiums, cooperative models, or score-based systems. However, reducing bureaucratic hurdles is seen as essential. Legal requirements should be better aligned with practical needs. While easing regulations, it is critical to ensure that environmental quality standards are not lowered in the process.