As global climate change becomes increasingly severe, actively promoting green and low-carbon agricultural development has become a common goal of the international community.
 

As an environmentally friendly, energy-saving and sustainable agricultural production method, low-carbon agriculture aims to reduce the pollution and loss of agricultural production to the environment and reduce greenhouse gas emissions through industrial adjustment, technological innovation, renewable energy utilization and other means.
 

In recent years, many countries have made useful explorations in this regard.

Germany: Vigorously develop organic agriculture

Durham Manor is located southwest of Berlin, Germany. It is not only an organic farm, but also an open-air museum of food culture. People can buy meat, eggs, vegetables, fruits and other agricultural products produced here at the farm store, and experience the organic agricultural production process "from field to plate" up close. In addition, the farm also cooperates with institutions such as the University of Göttingen to conduct research on organic agricultural products such as lettuce and tomatoes.

       Organic agriculture is regarded as a resource-saving, environment-friendly agricultural system based on the principle of sustainable development. In recent years, Germany has vigorously promoted the development of organic agriculture. According to statistics from the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture, as of the end of 2020, there were more than 35,000 organic product production companies in Germany, cultivating and operating organic agricultural products on more than 1.7 million hectares of agricultural land.

       Reducing greenhouse gas emissions is an important reason for Germany to actively develop organic agriculture. Germany is a major agricultural producer in the EU, with more than 270,000 agricultural enterprises, producing agricultural products with a total value of approximately 50 billion euros each year. However, the agricultural sector also produces large amounts of greenhouse gases. According to statistics, greenhouse gas emissions from Germany’s agricultural sector account for approximately 8% of the country’s total emissions. In June 2021, Germany passed a revised version of the "Climate Protection Law", proposing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 65% by 2030 compared with 1990, of which annual greenhouse gas emissions in the agricultural sector must be reduced to 56 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent. The German agricultural department believes that increasing organic agricultural land will help reduce emissions in the agricultural sector.

At the regulatory level, organic agricultural products are subject to inspection procedures stipulated in the EU organic agriculture legislation. In Germany, organic agricultural products are usually certified by private agencies authorized by government departments. According to the law, private inspection agencies are required to inspect agricultural production and processing enterprises and importers at least once a year, keep a list of inspected enterprises and publish it on the Internet for inquiries by competent authorities, operators and consumers. Producers and processors of organic agricultural products must accurately describe the land, buildings and other related facilities used in the production process, and all product information sold by organic farms or businesses must also be recorded in a book to ensure that these products can be traced.

       In terms of funding, Germany began to support the development of organic agriculture through public funds in 1989. Currently, German organic agriculture receives public financial support from three levels: the European Union, the German federal government, and the states. Since 2015, ordinary farms that transition to organic agriculture can receive a subsidy of 250 euros per hectare of cultivated land and grassland, and existing organic farms can receive a subsidy of 210 euros per hectare. Since 2002, the German government has also launched the "Federal Organic Agriculture Plan" to provide funds for organic agriculture-related research and training projects. In 2021, the project provided a total of 33.38 million euros in subsidies.

In addition, the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture also holds an organic agriculture competition every year to reward major farms for innovation in the field of organic agriculture, provide an incentive mechanism for the transformation of traditional farms, and enhance public awareness of organic agriculture, an environmentally friendly production method. The German government's goal is to expand the country's organic agricultural land to 30% of all agricultural land by 2030.