The German Farmers’ Association
Germany boasts a strong and varied agricultural sector with a multiplicity of different structures and farms, all relying on entrepreneurial skills. In its Mission Statement, the German Farmers’ Association (DBV) focuses on: supporting these family and multi-family businesses at the regional level and the responsibility they readily assume for sustainability; and on protecting cultivated landscapes, soil, air, water, as well as animals and plants. Our goal is to nurture personal responsibility, entrepreneurial self-determination and ownership, value orientation and family-based agriculture in all its legal forms, sustainability through securing income, market orientation and access to markets, as well as innovation and the preservation of economic development opportunities for the farming businesses.
Preamble of the DBV position paper “Shaping Change!” 2017
The Voice of Farming Families in Germany
Büro Brüssel
(Bild: DBV)The DBV is a trade association representing the interests of all German farmers, their families and rural areas. The DBV is not affiliated to any political party. The membership of the DBV consists of 18 regional farmers’ associations which, along with their county and local branches are present all throughout Germany and provide advice and services via their local offices. The DBV was founded in 1948 and membership in the association is voluntary. More than 90 per cent of the nearly 300.000 farm holdings in Germany are represented in the DBV.
The DBV is the voice of all agricultural enterprises in Germany, regardless of the type of production, of size or legal form. We cover agricultural, economic, environmental and social matters, legal and fiscal topics as well as education and youth-related issues.
Further full members of the DBV include the “Deutscher Raiffeisenverband” (German Raiffeisen Association) and the “Bundesverband landwirtschaftlicher Fachbildung” (Federal Association for Professional Development in Agriculture).The DBV has also developed close links with the “Bund der Deutschen Landjugend” (Federal Association of Young Farmers) and the “Deutscher Landfrauenverband” (German Association of Women in Agriculture). Moreover, the DBV encompasses 43 trade associations and institutions representing a wide range of organisations in the agricultural sector.
Central Point of Contact
Place du Luxembourg mit dem Europäischen Parlament
(Bild: DBV)As part of its mission to advocate for its members, the DBV is in regular contact with political decision-makers, with a host of players in the agricultural sector, the media and civil society.
The DBV has offices in Berlin and Brussels, making it the central point of contact for all political parties, associations, governmental and non-governmental organisations at national and European level. As a member of the European farmers' association COPA and the World Farmers' Organisation (WFO), the DBV is part of an extensive global network of farmers’ associations.
Within the framework of cooperation projects, our exchanges with farmers’ organisations, particularly in developing countries, provide a pool of expertise and know-how. Consequently, the DBV is convinced that well organised farmers offer the key to achieving sustainable agriculture of the highest professional standards worldwide.
Membership of International Organisations
European Union
The DBV is committed to the European idea. Since agriculture is one of the most closely integrated policies within the European Union, it is crucial that we actively engage with Brussels. The DBV is involved in discussions in Brussels, not only on the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) but also on international trade, food security, food supply chain issues as well as on topics such as climate change, environmental policies, research and innovation, new technologies and renewable energies.
In order to make its voice heard better by European decision makers, the DBV has become a member of the Committee of Professional Agricultural Organisations (COPA)— the united voice of European farmers’ associations. Its sister organisation COGECA, the association of European cooperatives, merged with COPA in 1962.
Worldwide
The DBV represents German agriculture in the World Farmers’ Organisation (WFO), which has its seat in Rome. The WFO is the voice of the global farming community and is in dialogue with international organisations including the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations, the World Bank and The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). The WFO represents the interests of agriculture in negotiations on international agreements and conventions.