Farming in former East Germany: Past policies and future prospects

This paper examines three eras of agricultural development in the former German Democratic Republic (GDR): (1) a period of socialism and collectivization of farming, 1945–1989, (2) the unification of Germany, EC integration and policy reform for the new federal states (ex-GDR), 1989–1995, and (3) the future of agriculture in a unified Germany beyond 1995. Politics, employment and social pressures are driving forces affecting the agricultural sector for each period. The former GDR state Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, illustrates these changes and trends in the agricultural sector on a more local level. Mecklenburg-Vorpommemʹs agricultural sector contributes greatly to the economic stability of this former GDR state. Its primary development characteristic is rural, and any alterations in the agricultural sector ultimately impacts the rural villages economically, socially and politically.