Press Release 126/04 - October 25, 2004

Ecological Agricultural Sciences at the University of Kassel in Witzenhausen have rounded off their profile

Kassel. With four newly appointed professorships, the Department of Ecological Agricultural Sciences at the University of Kassel has further rounded off its unique profile: for eight years now, it has been offering a two-cycle full degree course in "Ecological Agriculture" and, for two years, an English-language Master's degree course in "International Ecological Agriculture". With three relevant degree courses and 20 professorships, the faculty in Witzenhausen is the undisputed leader among universities in Europe and worldwide in terms of research and teaching in the field of organic farming. With the newly appointed or re-appointed professorships of "Agricultural Engineering" (Prof. Dr. Oliver Hensel), "Grassland Ecology and Forage Production" (Prof. Dr. Michael Wachendorf), "Business Administration" (Prof. Dr. Detlev Möller) and "Organic Plant Production and Agroecosystem Research in the Tropics and Subtropics" (Prof. Dr. Andreas Bürkert), the Department of Organic Agricultural Sciences at the University of Kassel in Witzenhausen is starting the 2004/05 winter semester. In addition, negotiations to fill the endowed professorship in biodynamic agriculture are to be concluded during the current winter semester.

The department has thus largely completed its 1996 decision to focus its profile on organic farming. This profiling is confirmed by the steadily increasing number of new enrolments of around 200 per year and the enormous increase in third-party funding, which more than quadrupled from 2001 to 2003.

Cooperation with the University of Göttingen
With the support of the university presidents of Göttingen and Kassel and the state governments of Lower Saxony and Hesse, negotiations are currently underway between the Faculty of Agriculture at the University of Göttingen and the Department of Ecological Agricultural Sciences at the University of Kassel with the aim of establishing close cooperation between the agricultural departments of the two universities.

The first tangible result is the planned joint appointment of a professorship for livestock sciences in the tropics and subtropics - with more to follow. In addition, the formation of a jointly supported tropical center is planned. This cross-border focus is intended to create a competence center for agricultural sciences with an enormous range of profiles in the heart of Germany.