Student-organized workshop: Dialogue on the future of agriculture in the Altes Land

2 July 2026, by Tim Eckhard

Photo: UHH/Eckhard

Dialogs in the context of the future of agriculture in the Altes Land region

The Altes Land is home to Germany’s largest contiguous fruit-growing region. Fruit growing has a long tradition in the region, where it has been practiced for centuries; it serves as an economic driver, shapes the local identity, and supplies the city of Hamburg with regional food products.
However, fruit growing in the Altes Land faces major challenges in meeting changing demands for sustainable food production, local recreation, and climate, biodiversity, and soil protection. This transformation is creating economic pressure and conflicts of interest.

On this topic, several students from the learning project “Soils in Transdisciplinary Dialogue”—offered jointly by faculty members from the departments of Social Sciences and Earth System Sciences—organized a workshop on their own. The workshop took place on July 1 as part of the Solution Talks at Hamburg Sustainability Week at the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce. Experts from academia, government, and agriculture were invited to promote transdisciplinary dialogue on the future of agriculture in the Altes Land region. Following a brief introduction, small discussion groups provided ample opportunity for participatory dialogue. This allowed for the exchange of diverse and, at times, conflicting perspectives and opinions. Thus, despite differing starting points and existing conflicts of interest, participants jointly explored ways to secure the future of the fruit-growing region. This workshop highlighted that a sustainable future for fruit growing in the Altes Land must be fostered through continuous dialogue and close collaboration among all stakeholders—from farmers to scientists to policymakers—so that a collective transformation can succeed.