HFFA Research’s new research results on agricultural land use and biodiversity have been published today, and were presented for the first time during the press conference of the German Crop Protection Association (IVA) at International Green Week Berlin.

The study published as HFFA Research Paper 01/2016 takes a closer look at the biodiversity impacts of two different agricultural production approaches: conventional and organic agriculture. By comparing both approaches in terms of their yield differences, the study derives their potential impacts on German and global biodiversity.

One of the key findings: an increase in the share of organic agriculture in Germany to 20% would result in an additional land use of around 815 000 ha. Substantial amount of these areas would be located in countries with higher biodiversity levels than generally found in central Europe. The authors show that a polarization of the current debate into “ecology” vs. “economy” is not-target oriented, and not helpful at all. To preserve global biodiversity, the authors ask for a more balanced discussion, considering all available production technologies.

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