Benchmark Study 1

IPP BENCHMARK REPORT
V. 1.0
The agriculture as an economic branch plays a very important role in the state, and it belongs to the
most successful fields. In the past 15 years the state has been developed mainly by agriculture. The
main reasons of this are advantageous premises and structurally good built companies. Prices of the
agricultural products were fluctuating in 2010, however companies reached good achievements. The
field used for vegetable growing has been increasing since 1991, and today it totals up to 5.744
hectares. Onion (on 1.216 hectares) and asparagus (on 1.168 hectares) have also been growing in the
state since 1995. 32
Research and Development
Research and innovation have a long tradition in Saxony-Anhalt. Otto von Guericke, famous for his
experiments with vacuums and, in particular, for the “Magdeburg hemispheres” experiment which he
presented in 1654, was also for many years the mayor of Magdeburg. Hugo Junkers built the first allmetal
aeroplane at the Junkers works in Dessau, a pioneering innovation which was to spread the fame
of Dessau around the world in the 1920s.
During the same period, the Merseburg - Bitterfeld – Dessau region was evolving into a centre of the
modern chemical industry in Germany. The first synthetic rubber, the first colour film, the first synthetic
fibres and the first hard PVC were all produced here in the 1930s.
This surge came to an abrupt halt with the 2nd World War and the subsequent division of Germany into
East and West. The main reasons for this were the enormous reparations which East Germany had to
pay the Soviet Union, coupled with a massive transfer of technology from East to West Germany, which
was to continue until reunification in 1990.
Today, central Germany is on the way to becoming a modern commercial and research centre.
Saxony-Anhalt’s future lies above all in the pursuit of new technologies and in attracting industries of
the future to locate here, creating jobs in economic sectors other than those which have been typical of
the region in the past.
Universities, college of art and universities of applied sciences
The state’s universities, universities of applied sciences and colleges are the most important centres of
publicly-subsidised research in Saxony-Anhalt. The various priorities set by research, and the
interdisciplinary and inter-institutional cooperation between the experts who conduct it, also help the
universities and colleges to acquire prestige which transcends state boundaries.
32 http://www.sachsen-anhalt.de/LPSA/index.php?id=2107 and http://www.sachsenanhalt.de/LPSA/index.php?id=1808
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