From the Field to the Market

New Farming Strategies and Regional Value Chains for Hesse

Increasingly frequent dry spells and changing weather conditions are presenting new challenges for farms. Crops that offer promising cultivation prospects even under drier or fluctuating conditions can help make farming systems more resilient, expand crop rotations, and reduce production risks.

There is considerable interest in such crops in agricultural practice. At the same time, there is currently a lack of reliable information on which crops are particularly suitable for farms in Hesse and what options exist for their harvesting, processing, and marketing.

The Hesse Practical Research Network is working with farms and agricultural extension services to establish a new project group focused on climate-adapted crops. At the same time, Hof Tolle Projekt GbR is conducting a market and value chain analysis to examine potential processing and marketing channels, the requirements of potential buyers, and economic conditions. These two processes are intertwined and form the basis for the joint development of a new practical research project that integrates crop production and regional value creation from the very beginning.

Which crops and research questions are particularly relevant for Hesse will be determined in collaboration with interested farms and agricultural advisory services. To this end, the farms’ experiences, interests, operational conditions, and potential research questions will be documented.

On October 15, 2026, the new project group held its first online meeting. The kickoff went well and provided an opportunity for members to get to know one another, share experiences, and collaboratively define the scope of the project. For future collaboration, the group decided on:

• Chickpeas
• Flat pea
• black dried beans
• Lentils
• Safflower (dye thistle)

Initial findings from the concurrent market and value chain analysis have already been incorporated into these discussions.

An expanded meeting with stakeholders from agriculture, consulting, processing, marketing, and politics is planned for November 2026. The goal is to bring together the various perspectives and further refine potential regional value-added approaches for Hesse.

Market and Value Chain Analysis

The market and value chain analysis examines existing processing, manufacturing, and marketing structures in Hesse and neighboring regions. Through discussions with potential customers and other stakeholders, the analysis aims to identify, among other things, requirements regarding quality, quantities, and delivery capacity.

In addition, economic conditions are taken into account. These include production costs, potential producer prices, and the opportunities and risks for the participating farms. An illustrative contribution margin calculation is also provided for a selected crop.

On this basis, the following are to be determined:

• identified promising crops and marketing channels,
• identified potential processing and marketing partners,
• key obstacles and risks have been identified,
• identified open questions for future cultivation trials, and
• recommendations for action regarding the project’s further development have been derived.

The accompanying market and value chain analysis is funded through variable funding from the Hesse Practice-Based Research Network.

Outlook

This collaborative process is intended to give rise to a new practice-based research project that combines the cultivation of drought-tolerant crops with the development of regional processing and marketing structures.

The plan is to study selected crops under real-world conditions on farms in Hesse and to provide technical support to the participating farms. At the same time, suitable sales channels and partnerships along the value chain will be further developed. The specific crops and research questions to be focused on will be determined in collaboration with the participating farms and other stakeholders.