How has the German agriculture developed?

DW (English)

Agriculture has developed tremendously. While one farmer in Germany fed 10 people in the 1950s, that number today is 150. Everyone could be fed. But a lot still needs to be done in terms of the environment, climate and animal welfare.

Transcript

00:00 How did agriculture develop?

00:02 Feeding chickens, milking cows, harvesting wheat.

00:06 Without agriculture, about 8 billion or so people on Earth

00:09 would have no livelihood.

00:12 And almost a billion people, 30% of the working population,

00:15 are out of a job.

00:17 That's how many are full-time farmers.

00:19 And they use around a third of the Earth's total land

00:25 area for livestock, farming, and agriculture.

00:28 Efficiency has increased enormously.

00:31 In the early days, thousands of years ago,

00:33 agriculture yielded even less than hunting and gathering.

00:37 This changed mainly due to technical progress,

00:42 better seeds, more efficient fertilizers, pesticides,

00:46 and ever larger and more modern machines.

00:50 This allowed farmers to cultivate more arable land,

00:53 keep more livestock, and specialize their farms.

00:57 In Germany, for example, one farmer

00:59 could feed 10 people in the early 1950s.

01:03 Today, one farmer feeds almost 150 people.

01:07 Wheat yields per hectare are almost three times higher.

01:10 Whereas a hen used to lay 30 eggs a year,

01:13 today's breeds can lay over 300.

01:16 One thing is clear.

01:18 So much is produced that everyone

01:20 could have enough to eat.

01:21 But it is also clear that global agriculture must become

01:25 more environmentally, animal, and climate friendly.

01:29 If you add land consumption and deforestation,

01:32 it is responsible for around 30% of the greenhouse effect.

01:37 And in the end, the climate change we are contributing to

01:40 will also reduce agricultural yields.

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