German livestock farming and food production in times of crisis: an explorative study

Abstract In times of crisis, a stable and secure food supply is essential. Despite Germany’s status as a developed economy with decades of food security, recent crises have highlighted the vulnerability of the national food supply chain. This explorative study aims to provide an overview of the current state of research on food emergency preparedness in Germany along the value chain. It also uses the example of livestock production in Germany to illustrate the challenges at the level of primary agricultural production during a blackout. A semi-systematic literature review was conducted, which identified ten relevant scientific articles and ten national security research projects. While the majority of these studies focus on the middle and downstream parts of the supply chain, primary production and upstream businesses are rarely examined. In addition, eleven expert interviews were conducted with livestock experts who identified ventilation, water and feed supply as time-critical and vulnerable areas at both the farm and supply chain levels. The results of this paper bring together scientific work and practical expert knowledge from different areas of crisis management and agricultural science, highlighting the need for future research on crisis resilience of primary production and the early stages of the value chain.