News

With the launch of the Innovation Center for Agricultural System Transformation (IAT) in Berlin, a significant project in German agricultural research is underway. Its goal is to make agriculture climate-resilient, sustainable, and competitive at the same time. The Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF), the University of Kassel, the Justus Liebig University Giessen, and Hochschule Geisenheim University are collaborating on new solutions – not just in the laboratory, but directly in practice. The focus is on so-called real-world laboratories in Hesse and Brandenburg, where research, agriculture, politics, and society collaborate to test new approaches under real-world conditions. Hesse plays a key role: a real-world laboratory for organic farming in northern Hesse is being established in Kassel-Witzenhausen. Simultaneously, Giessen will be the location of the central coordination office. The focus is on integrated plant-animal farming systems in the Hessian low mountain ranges.

At the Geisenheim site, multifunctional, climate-resilient viticulture systems in the Rheingau region are being investigated. Numerous scientists from the LOEWE projects GreenDairy and TRIO are involved, including Andreas Gattinger, Miriam Athmann, Lutz Breuer, Michael Wachendorf, and Annette Reinecke.

The project is designed for the long term and will receive millions in funding from the federal and state governments starting in 2026 – a strong signal for a scientifically sound, practical, and sustainable transformation of agriculture.