The Münsterland becomes an eco-model region

The Münsterland region has been selected by the state of North Rhine-Westphalia as an organic model region. This was announced by the NRW Ministry of Agriculture on Friday. This will promote the expansion of organic farming and the creation of networks in the Münsterland region. The city of Münster and the districts of Borken, Coesfeld, Steinfurt and Warendorf took part in the state competition under the auspices of Münsterland e.V. and are now part of the eco-model region network.

"We are pleased that we were successful with our Münsterland-wide approach and can now, with the support of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, promote the operation of the regional agricultural and food economy according to ecological standards," emphasises Klaus Ehling, board member of Münsterland e.V. "As a region, we want to contribute to maintaining strong agriculture and the broad food trade. Through the jointly coordinated activities within the framework of the Münsterland eco-model region, we are also once again promoting climate and environmental protection, biodiversity and animal welfare," the district councillors of the Münsterland districts Dr. Kai Zwicker (Borken district), Dr. Christian Schulze Pellengahr (Coesfeld district), Dr. Martin Sommer (Steinfurt district), Dr. Olaf Gericke (Warendorf district) and Münster's Lord Mayor Markus Lewe are also pleased about the success of the joint application. The food trade includes, for example, the professional fields of bakery, confectionery, butchery and brewery.

Münsterland focuses on three areas: Firstly, increasing the organic share in the out-of-home supply, secondly, expanding and strengthening the distribution of organic food and thirdly, identifying and closing gaps in the regional organic value chain. The ways to achieve these goals are manifold: relevant actors in the region are to be networked more closely, canteens are to be involved, workshops are to be organised and consumers are to be addressed and sensitised. In addition, organic regional shelves for stationary and digital trade are being considered. In addition, regional organic value chains are to be identified and closed, flanked by public relations work and a wide variety of events.

"The Münsterland enjoys a reputation as a high-quality local recreation, holiday and enjoyment region. The expansion of organic farming boosts this reputation and strengthens the Münsterland brand. Because it contributes to the good life that Münsterland stands for and ensures sustainably and with foresight that we can continue to live well in our region in the future," says Klaus Ehling.

Now that the Münsterland has been selected in the competition process, the formal application is ready. The project partners are now working on a joint detailed concept. The state will bear up to 80 percent of the costs for implementing the submitted concepts for eco-regional management over an initial period of up to three years and a maximum of 80,000 euros per region and year.

According to the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, the aim of promoting eco-model regions is to expand and strengthen the networking of processing and marketing opportunities, for example in the food trade, in retail, in gastronomy or in public canteens. By better tapping regional sales potentials, the interest in converting agriculture and thus the share of organically farmed land in North Rhine-Westphalia should increase in the long term. In 2021, the Ministry of Agriculture announced the competition for organic model regions in North Rhine-Westphalia for the first time. The three regions "Bergisches RheinLand", "Kulturland Kreis Höxter" and "Niederrhein" were awarded the contract. The second call for competition followed at the end of 2021, in which the Minden-Lübbecke region was selected in addition to the Münsterland region. This brings the number of eco-model regions in the network to five.