Landwirtschaftsministerium, Bundesministerium für Land- und Forstwirtschaft, Umwelt und Wasserwirtschaft#
Agriculture, Ministry of, official name: Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management; called Ministry of Farming during the Monarchy, 1918/19 state authority for agriculture, 1919/20 and 1945 state authority for agriculture and forestry, from 1920-1038 onwards and 1945-2000 Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, since 2000 Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management.
The Ministry of Agriculture is divided into 11 sections and has the
following spheres of responsibility: matters of agricultural policy
and agricultural law, matters of the food industries, forestry policy
and forestry law, regulation of the internal market of the EU
regarding agricultural, food and forestry products, animal feed and
fertilisers, pest control, movement of goods, wine law and wine
regulations, matters of soil control and agricultural authorities,
water law, plant protection, trade of agricultural goods on the stock
exchange, matters of hunting and fishing and the administration of
federal land used for agriculture and forestry, including matters of
the Austrian federal forests ( Oesterreichische Bundesforste), the
federal gardens and parks and the Spanish Riding School.
In 2000 all matters pertaining to the environment and some other
branches were transferred to the Ministry of Agriculture from the
Ministry for Environmental Affairs; these included general
environmental matters, waste management and recycling, protection of
species, nature and landscape preservation and preservation of caves,
radiation protection, coordination of nuclear issues and the
transportation of hazardous goods.
The following authorities are subordinate to the Ministry of
Agriculture: schools and research institutes of agriculture and
forestry ( Schools of Agriculture and Forestry), the Federal Gardens
and Parks, Spanish Riding School and the federal inspection authority
for wineries (Bundeskellereiinspektion).
The Agrarmarkt Austria (AMA) was founded in 1993 and has been in
charge of enforcing the market regulations of the European Union since
Austria´s accession (supervision of direct payments to farmers,
interventions, CAP subsidies, etc.).
Literature#
Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (ed.), Festschrift 100 Jahre Landwirtschaftsministerium, 1967.