Agriculture and the environment

1
Agriculture and the environment

• Economics of Food Markets
• Lecture 19
• Alan Matthews

2
Key issues

• Identify the key linkages between agriculture and
  the environment
• Identify agri-environment indicators used in
  monitoring the environmental performance of
  agriculture
• Evolution of EU and Irish agri-environmental
  policies

3
Reading

• Good overviews in Latacz-Lohmann and Hodge, 2003,
  Commission 2005, IEEP 2002
• See Dwyer (2007) for review of performance
• Series of edited volumes by Whitby (1996),
  Brouwer and van Berkum (1996), Brouwer and Lowe
  (2000), Brouwer and van Straaten (2002), Brouwer
  and Erwin (2002)
• Web sites of DG Agri, European Environment
  Agency, European Environmental Bureau and
  Institute for European Environmental Policy

4
Agriculture-environment linkages

• Soil quality (sustainability concerns)
• Water quality and quantity (pollution concerns)
• Air quality (pollution concerns)
• Biodiversity (conservation concerns)
• Landscape (amenity concerns)
• Food safety and animal welfare concerns

5
Agri-environment indicators

• Follow the OECD Drivers-State-Response (DSR)
  model
• Drivers
• Nutrient use, pesticide use, animal numbers
• State indicators
• Water quality, GHG emissions, species numbers
• Response
• Indicators of government expenditure or
  participation in agri-environment schemes

6
Source EEA Europes Environment The Fourth
Assessment SEE South East Europe EECCA East
Europe and Central Asia
7
Source EEA Europes Environment The Fourth
Assessment SEE South East Europe EECCA East
Europe and Central Asia
8
Source EEA Europes Environment The Fourth
Assessment SEE South East Europe EECCA East
Europe and Central Asia
9
Source Birdlife International, New Challenges,
New CAP 2007
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Breakdown of emissions by sector
Source Report of the Consultation Group on
Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading, 2000,
Department of the Environment and Local
Government
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Integrating environmental concerns into EU
agricultural policy

• Background is growing importance of sustainable
  growth culminating in the Göteborg Council
  commitment to SSD in 20010
• Traditional CAP policies exacerbated negative
  effects for the environment
• Integration took three forms
• Incorporating environmental considerations into
  the commodity market regimes (Pillar 1)
• Specific agri-environment schemes (Pillar 2)
• Compliance with general environmental regulations

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Environmental considerations in Pillar 1

• Setaside in the arable crops regime
• Extensification and stocking density restrictions
  in the beef/veal regime
• Cross-compliance
• Decoupling of direct payments
• ..but rising food prices may again increase
  incentives for more intensive land use

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Agri-environment schemes in Pillar 2

• Less Favoured Areas directive introduced in 1975
  to support farming in marginal areas
• Agri environment payments first permitted as a
  voluntary measure for MS in the 1985 agric
  structures regulation
• Introduced as an accompanying measure in the
  MacSharry CAP reform
• A compulsory axis in the 2007-13 Rural
  Development Regulation

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EU environmental regulations

• Biodiversity Natura 2000, Birds Directive and
  Habitats Directive
• Water pollution Nitrates Directive
• Water management Water Framework Directive
• Climate change support for energy crops
• Biotechnology regulating GMOs