Description

A code of good agricultural practice related to agricultural land use, providing tips on soil cultivation, sowing and harvesting, crop rotation, selection of varieties, irrigation and drainage, fertilisation and use of pesticides, grassland use and area-based livestock farming, preventing wind and water erosion, using tractors and machinery, etc., while taking national and regional soil and climate conditions into account. Good agricultural practice forms the basis for education and training for the current and the next generation of farmers. It is a description of the current level of knowledge and farmers’ experiences in land use and should constantly be developed in line with new scientific findings and legal frameworks in a broad process of negotiation. It is not of a legally binding nature.

Requirements

• Close cooperation and knowledge sharing with farmers' organisations
• Close cooperation and knowledge sharing with local advisory services
• Close cooperation and knowledge sharing with research institutions
• Participation of all stakeholders involved, e. g. science / research, agricultural advisory services, civil society, public and private sector (incl. farmers and their interest groups)

Possible Negative Effects

• The code could be given a law-like status, lose its guideline function and therefore fail to be accepted by farmers