The revolution in agricultural techniques in the E.E.C. and its consequences The lecture delivered by G. Thiede in May 1971 before the Agrarsoziale Gesellschaft (the rural sociologie society) caused a stir in public opinion and in specialized circles. Here the author defends the opinion, which he describes as « personal » ; that as far as agriculture is concerned the conceptions of the past have now no value and that a new direction must be taken. Limiting capacity in order to avoid an overproduction, wich could attain unimagined proportions in his opinion should become the principal question in agricultural policy. That is why a great proportion of arable land should cease to be farmed. Land would then change hands at a much faster rate than has hitherto been known and would considerably ease the reorganization of agriculture. Here Mr Thiede presents the mains arguments of this thesis and the data on which it is based.
