The capital city will conclude lease agreements for 12 of its agricultural plots. A total of 187 hectares of land in the localities of Běchovice, Dolní and Horní Počernice, Dubč, Kyje, Vysočany, Třeboradice and Toča have been managed to be farmed in an environmentally friendly manner.

"The conditions were set to make the lease as attractive as possible for the farmers. Prague manages about 1,650 hectares of agricultural land and our goal is not to let it lie fallow, but rather to value it. The way to do this is to farm in a sustainable way," adds Adam Zábranský, Prague's councillor for property, legislation and transparency.

Support for sustainable organic farming is one of the 69 measures of the Capital's Climate Plan. Prague already terminated all the former lease agreements in 2019 and a year later approved the Principles of Organic Farming on the agricultural land it owns.

The principles include landscaping. These include the division of agricultural areas into smaller blocks of land, the creation of meadows and copses, and the planting of tree plantations. The aim is to improve the function of the soil and landscape and to encourage species diversity of animals and plants.

The policy also regulates sowing practices and seeks to increase the diversity of crops grown and to favour crops that do not exacerbate soil erosion. Significant reductions in the use of pesticides, herbicides, mineral fertilisers and other chemicals are also a major benefit.