The Julius Kuehn Institute (JKI) is an independent higher federal authority and research institution (read more here). It is subordinated to the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL). Tasks are stipulated in the German Crop Protection Act and the Gene Technology Act. The main task is to advise the German Federal Government concerning issues of crop production, soil science, plant genetics, plant breeding, plant protection, plant health, and bee protection. JKI has about 1,250 staff members with 350 scientists at 17 research institutes spread over research facilities in 10 federal states in Germany. Research work aims at developing sustainable methods and techniques in crop production, plant nutrition, plant breeding and plant protection.
At the Institute for Strategies and Technology Assessment (JKI-SF) in Kleinmachnow concepts and management options for integrated crop cultivation and organic farming with particular emphasis on the social challenges related to sustainable agriculture are developed and tested. Assessment of the multifaceted consequences of current and future developments in the field of agriculture and related areas together with the associated ecological and economic aspects play a crucial role in our work.
An important focus of the work of JKI-SF is the description and evaluation of the consequences of the application of plant protection products and also those that arise from their prohibition or abandonment. JKI-SF coordinates scientific activities regarding the German National Action Plan on Sustainable Use of Plant Protection Products (NAP). JKI-SF also play a decisive role in the area of minor uses and minor crops. Our scientific methods range from laboratory and field tests to the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS), model-based studies as well as statistical surveys on the use of plant protection products in agricultural and horticultural practice.
JKI-SF is a research and coordinating partner in many national, EU and international projects, of which EcoStack and ELONTA concern the development, adaptation and application of ALMaSS:
Hella is a senior scientist in the area of crop production and plant protection. Her main research interests are integrated impact assessment of crop cultivation and economic evaluation of plant production and pest management strategies. She leads a work package on socio-economic aspects within the EU H2020-project EcoStack, where a cost-benefit analysis for different scenarios of implementing measures enhancing functional biodiversity will be based on ALMaSS modelling input data and results.
Scientific Director and Deputy Director of the JKI-SF
Burkhard leads the Geoinformation Systems working group with a focus on GIS-supported landscape structure analyses, spatially explicit exposure modelling of plant protection products to address issues on sustainable plant cultivation. He is a member of the BVL nature budget advisory board. His other research interests are in the use of remote sensing in agriculture and digital solutions in precision agriculture.
Within the EU H2020 project EcoStack, Bettina is focusing on socio-economic aspects of enhancing functional biodiversity. For the simulation of realistic uptake scenarios of EcoStack measures in ALMaSS, she is analysing incentives and constraints, and the mechanisms that influence farmers’ decision-making and the implementation of agro-environmental measures in Europe.
Anto is an environmental modeller. His research interests currently focus on process-based forecast models for agricultural pests and their management, occurrence and distribution of pests under climate change, and the application of pesticide fate models to assess and mitigate environmental risk from pesticide use. He coordinates the development of German landscapes for ALMaSS in the context of ELONTA at the JKI.
