F.R.A.N.Z.

About the Project

Biological diversity is a critical factor for intact ecosystems and thus for agriculture. However, attempts to meet the growing global demand for agricultural products often conflict with biodiversity conservation objectives. This is where the dialogue and demonstration project F.R.A.N.Z. (Future Resources, Agriculture & Nature Conservation) comes in, by developing effective nature protection measures  that can be integrated into normal farming practice.
Within F.R.A.N.Z., environmentalists and farmers are working together to trial conservation measures on ten representative (demonstration) farms in Germany. These measures should promote biodiversity, but at the same time be practicable and economically viable for the farm. Successful measures will be communicated and promoted in the farming community, with the intention to increase implementation on a national scale.
Another focus of F.R.A.N.Z. is providing policy recommendations to improve regulatory and publicly funded instruments to the benefit of biodiversity and farmers.

The F.R.A.N.Z. project is jointly coordinated by the Environmental Foundation Michael Otto and the German Farmers' Association. The analysis of the economic and environmental impacts of the implemented conservation measures will be carried out by the Thünen Institutes of Rural Studies, Farm Economics and Biodiversity, as well as the Georg-August University of Göttingen and the Michael-Otto-Institute of the NABU. The regional farmers' associations and their cultural landscape foundations will be responsible for assisting and advising the participating farms.

The project funding is provided by the Rentenbank with special support from the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture as well as by the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation with funds of the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection. The Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Environment are patrons of the project.

Objectives

F.R.A.N.Z. has set itself the target to develop and test measures to preserve and increase biodiversity in agricultural landscape. The measures for nature conservation should be transferred to other farms on a mid- to long-term basis. It is therefore important that the measures can be easily integrated into normal farming practices and that farmers do not suffer economic disadvantages.

Barriers to the implementation of conservation measures within existing regulatory and publicly funded instruments should be identified and reduced to increase their acceptance by farmers.

Demonstration farms

Ten demonstration farms nationwide are participating in the F.R.A.N.Z. project, including both arable and livestock farms. The distribution in Germany and the different kinds of production of the participating farms should reflect the regional characteristics and various challenges at the interface of agriculture and nature conversation. To ensure the transferability of the measures to other farms, the demonstration farms should be typical for the region in which they are located.