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Stabilised situation of domestic agriculture |
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Many of the problems that had been discussed before Austria joined the EU had to be solved following accession and opportunities had to be seized. It was of utmost importance for the land of Salzburg to ensure that its own agriculture continued to function efficiently. Salzburg’s agriculture is structured on a very small scale, something that can be explained in particular by the mountainous geography and also in the history of the land. The advantage of this small-scale structure of agriculture results in a more ecological management and employment for many people in rural areas. The disadvantage was that this form of agriculture could not survive without substantial support in the competition with large-scale agricultural concerns in Europe. In January 1998 Salzburg’s former president Dr. Franz Schausberger and Regional Agricultural Councillor Sepp Eisl were able to reassure farmers: by means of massive changeovers in agriculture to ecological (organic) production and with special subsidies and innovations in the companies, success had been achieved in making up for losses resulting from falling prices. Farmers in the alpine foreland areas of Salzburg land had to survive very difficult transition years. However, for a long time already Salzburg’s agriculture has been backing a winner by concentrating on environmentally friendly and organic production as well as innovative marketing. In Salzburg there is a higher percentage of organic farmers than in any other region in Europe: of about 10,000 farms, around 3,500 are operated according to organic principles. Existing market niches were cleverly made use of and ideas such as direct agricultural marketing have proved to be very successful. Salzburg has become an exemplary region for organic farming in Europe and the initiative has thereby been intensified. |
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