Prof. Dr. Florian Wichern
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New impetus for teaching and research at the university
Prof. Dr. Florian Wichern - Diploma I Organic Agriculture and Master International Ecological Agriculture, graduated 2004.
Currently: Head of the Department of Soil Science and Plant Nutrition, Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences, Kleve
When I returned to Germany in 1999 after a year of church partnership work on sustainable development in South Africa, my studies in organic agriculture with a focus on international agricultural development at the University of Kassel were already organized. Moreover, the choice seemed logical to me, as it was the logical continuation of my voluntary work in nature conservation and development cooperation. My farming roots and years of sheep farming underpinned the decision. At the time, some older farmers in my home region of northern Germany, who dismissed the ecological orientation of agriculture in particular as a crazy idea (Ms. Künast had just become Federal Minister of Agriculture), saw it as less sensible. Today, a good 20 years later, organic farming has emerged from its former niche and has to regularly reinvent itself as a pioneer of sustainable agriculture due to the rapid development of this topic, although the sustainable development of agriculture as a whole is sobering and the EU's future CAP gives no hope of improvement.
What is sustainable organic farming?
It is more important than ever that new models of sustainable agriculture emerge. Even during my studies, I liked the critical discourse on the concepts of conventional and organic agriculture in Witzenhausen, as well as the role of large corporations and NGOs. I have fond memories of the emotional discussion about the use of small amounts of mineral fertilizer in African subsistence farming systems for the initial production of biomass to enable a nutrient cycle economy. The thoughts at the time on the idea that farmers can also become energy managers were also inspiring. In addition, the topics of agroforestry and permaculture, which I was familiar with from my time in Africa and partly before, were discussed in the context of international agricultural development. Even back then, there was a lot of scientific research and practical experience on the topic of agroforestry in the tropics and subtropics, which lecturers such as Prof. Bürkert brought us closer to. It is all the more pleasing that these topics are currently also being discussed more intensively in Germany and that networks are developing in the field of agroforestry. It remains to be critically noted that I would have liked to have acquired more sound knowledge of sustainability methods and in-depth knowledge of ecological concepts in Research, as these aspects enable the critical-scientific analysis and further development of organic farming. In Witzenhausen, however, I appreciated the idealism of many students, as it enables the release of energy and the implementation of new ideas. In my case, it was expressed, among other things, through my involvement in the student council and with WOW (Witzenhausen-Ortsnah-Weltweit) at the study information days, where we always took great pleasure in trying to convey our enthusiasm for the chosen course to prospective students.
Doctorate in soil biology
After successfully completing Diploma I, I put what I had learned into practice on various farms in Australia and enjoyed the big, wide world. However, it only took a year before I was back in Witzenhausen and accepted an offer from Prof. Jörgensen and Dr. Müller to work on a doctoral project. Prof. Wildhagen and Prof. Richter had already awakened my interest in soil science and plant nutrition, and Prof. Jörgensen got me interested in soil biology early on. In addition to greenhouse and field experiments in the project, I completed my Master's degree and became increasingly interested in teaching students, which was also reflected in my involvement in establishing the ecology project weeks for the Bachelor's course. Due to the meagre career prospects of a permanent position in academia, I decided to work in industry after my doctorate and worked in international marketing at K+S KALI GmbH in Kassel for two and a half years.
Building a new university
In 2009, an interesting opportunity arose to re-enter the world of higher education and I became the founding dean of the newly founded Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences in Kleve. There I was able to implement many of my ideas on the content and methodological orientation of university teaching in the development of new degree programs for teaching students about sustainable agriculture. My experience in Witzenhausen is reflected in our English-language Bachelor's degree course in Sustainable Agriculture. Building on this, we have also tried to give greater consideration to the subject areas that I missed during my studies. In this way, we hope to contribute to the further development of organic farming and the sustainable development of agriculture in general. In any case, we have very committed and motivated students, like the ones I got to know in Witzenhausen. We have also been able to establish our research into sustainable agriculture and are working on topics such as soil fertility, nutrient flows at different scales, sustainable value chains, e.g. for baobab(Adansoniadigitata L.) and new land use concepts in Germany, such as agroforestry systems or permaculture.
Witzenhausen in retrospect
Witzenhausen remains a formative place to which I like to return to visit colleagues and old companions. It was there that I learned some of the basics of organic farming and deepened my systems thinking about agriculture. I met my wife there, two of my children were born there and I made friends for life. What more could you want?