Who owns the agricultural land, and how concentrated is land ownership?

25 June 2024

Our new study examines these questions for the entire federal state of Brandenburg, Germany. Our findings indicate fragmented ownership but consolidated land use. We quantify how much land the various types of landowners own. Private owners who are not active in agriculture own half of the total agricultural land but mostly only small plots; agricultural company networks own the largest properties on average; and public institutions are the largest owners overall. We do not find excessive ownership concentration but a few pockets of higher concentration in some localities. Our analysis provides rare information on a large region's agricultural land ownership concentration. The results can be used to justify and design policies regulating agricultural land markets. Learn more: 

Jänicke, C., Müller, D. (2024) Revealing agricultural land ownership concentration with cadastral and company network data. Agriculture and Human Values. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10460-024-10590-3