Commons-Based Property Regimes in German Farming Systems

* Master Thesis: Commoning land for a regenerative agriculture. A study of emerging property regimes in German farming systems. By Janna Jung-Irrgang. Copenhagen University, Faculty of Science, MSc Agriculture, Production and Environment, June 2022.

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Abstract

"Amplified by climatic and social instabilities, the contribution of agriculture and land use to ecological crises is increasingly being recognized. Discourses engage with socio-economic parameters such as land distribution and tenure regimes as explanations, but also an opportunity for transformation: in a food system increasingly defined by concentration, specialization, and globalization, new organizations are emerging that provide community-supported land (CSL) access for farms. Based on a theoretical discussion of the nature of common property regimes and ‘good’ agriculture, this study finds the new tenure models to enable commoned land and practices of an idealistic agriculture that create ecological and social benefits. To explore this empirically, I draw on document analysis and qualitative interviews conducted in 2021-2022 in Germany, categorizing 100+ farms and community-supported land organizations and focus on three farms with different tenure regimes to identify potentials and challenges of commoned agricultural land. The analysis shows the farms on commoned land to share an ambition of agriculture as the foundation for broader aims such as ecological conservation or education. But ideals of such regenerative agriculture seem to be formally restricted by legal and economic conditions; they also presuppose a shift of informal institutions and cultures towards a new paradigm that centers care, regeneration, and community. I note that CSL facilitating organizations have a promising role in stabilizing and extending the formalization and recognition of socially and ecologically beneficial agriculture and dedicated property models. At the same time, many dependencies on current private property paradigms and conservation motives remain for any alternative model. Transitioning to a shared sense of responsibility for the land commons seems necessary to make community-supported land tenure adaptable to future needs and accessible to a greater public."