Think the Earth

Dahme-Spreewald is located 70km southeast of central Berlin. Nearly 40% of the land in this region is being used as farmland, and at the end of last year, this region's organic farmland became the largest in Germany.

Only 5% of farmers in Germany practice organic farming that is in compliance with the EG -Oeko-Verordnung (EU Organic Regulation), which requires farmers to not use pesticides, nitrogen fertilizers, and manmade feed additive as much as possible. But in this region, of the more than 75,000 hectares of farmland, approximately 30% of the farmland or 22,700 hectares are organic farms! Such growth seems to have occurred not only in response to the great increase in demand for organically farmed produce , but also because a vast wildlife preserve, the Spreewald Biosphere Reserve is located nearby. It is undeniable that when farmers switch to organic farming methods their yield decreases, however, with compensation from the government and from EU, the sales have started to grow gradually. There are concerns that Berlin may face shortages of organic produce as the demand and boom for such produce intensifies, but the efforts of nearby farmers are helping encourage local production for local consumption.