Can economic experiments contribute to a more effective CAP?

In order to keep pace with the evolution of the objectives and means of the EU's Common Agricultural Policy, evaluation tools also need to adapt. A set of tools that have proved highly effective in other policy fields is economic experiments. These allow the testing of a new policy before its implementation, provide evidence of its specific effects, and identify behavioural dimensions that can influence policy outcomes. We argue that agricultural policy should be subject to economic experiments, providing examples to illustrate how they can inform CAP design. We identify the additional efforts needed to establish further proof-of-concept, by running more – and more robust – experiments related to the CAP. This can happen only by integrating experimental evaluation results within the policy cycle and addressing ethical and practical challenges seriously. To do so, researchers would benefit from a concerted European effort to promote the methodology across the EU; organise the replication in time and across Europe of experiments relevant for the CAP; and build a multi-national panel of farmers willing to participate in experiments. Steps are being taken in this direction by the Research Network of Economics Experiments for CAP evaluation (REECAP)

Farmers' risk preferences in 11 European farming systems: A multi-country replication of Bocqueho et al. (2014)

We replicate Bocqueho et al. (2014), who used multiple price lists to investigate the risk preferences of 107 French farmers. We collected new data from 1430 participants in 11 European farming systems. In agreement with the original study, farmers' risk preferences are best described by Cumulative Prospect Theory. Structural model estimates show that farmers in the new samples are, on average, less loss averse and more susceptible to probability distortion than in the original study. Explorative analyses indicate differences between estimation approaches, as well as heterogeneity between and within samples. We discuss challenges in replications of economic experiments with farmers across farming contexts

Farmers' risk preferences in 11 European farming systems: A multi-country replication of Bocquého et al. (2014)

We replicate Bocquého et al. (2014), who used multiple price lists to investigate the risk preferences of 107 French farmers. We collected new data from 1430 participants in 11 European farming systems. In agreement with the original study, farmers' risk preferences are best described by Cumulative Prospect Theory. Structural model estimates show that farmers in the new samples are, on average, less loss averse and more susceptible to probability distortion than in the original study. Explorative analyses indicate differences between estimation approaches, as well as heterogeneity between and within samples. We discuss challenges in replications of economic experiments with farmers across farming contexts

How Can We Advance Integrative Biology Research in Animal Science in 21st Century?:Experience at University of Ljubljana from 2002 to 2022

In this perspective analysis, we strive to answer the following question: how can we advance integrative biology research in the 21st century with lessons from animal science? At the University of Ljubljana, Biotechnical Faculty, Department of Animal Science, we share here our three lessons learned in the two decades from 2002 to 2022 that we believe could inform integrative biology, systems science, and animal science scholarship in other countries and geographies. Cultivating multiomics knowledge through a conceptual lens of integrative biology is crucial for life sciences research that can stand the test of diverse biological, clinical, and ecological contexts. Moreover, in an era of the current COVID-19 pandemic, animal nutrition and animal science, and the study of their interactions with human health (and vice versa) through integrative biology approaches hold enormous prospects and significance for systems medicine and ecosystem health

Strategic and methodological challenges of agricultural policy planning in the field of nature conservation in Slovenia

Kmetijstvo sodi med najpomembnejše dejavnike zmanjševanja biotske pestrosti v EU, vendar integracija varstva narave v Skupno kmetijsko politiko ostaja nezadostna. Namen doktorske disertacije je proučiti načrtovanje, učinke in vrednotenje slovenske kmetijske politike na področju ohranjanja narave. Analiza z modeli BRT je pokazala negativno povezavo med diverziteto ptic kmetijske krajine in neposrednimi plačili, okoljski ukrepi pa so imeli v obdobju 2008–2019 na diverziteto ptic šibek relativni vpliv. Diverziteta ptic je bila najvišja v odprti krajini na območjih Natura 2000 z visoko pestrostjo kmetijskih rastlin in nizko obtežbo z živino. Programsko-teoretična analiza slovenske kmetijske politike je pokazala številne vrzeli v opredelitvi intervencijske logike. Manjka predvsem opredelitev ciljev in kazalnikov, ki bi omogočali presojo uspešnosti ukrepanja. Integracija varstva narave je na strateškem nivoju omejena predvsem na prostovoljne ukrepe, strategije za preprečevanje konfliktov med naravovarstvenimi in drugimi cilji kmetijske politike pa večinoma niso opredeljene. Ocenili smo, da je bilo v programskem obdobju 2014–2020 varstvu narave namenjenih okrog 5 % (17,8–19,4 mio EUR) letnega proračuna slovenske kmetijske politike. Disertacijo zaokrožuje analiza možnosti za izboljšanje rezultatske naravnanosti kmetijsko-okoljskih ukrepov, ki je potekala s poskusom diskretne izbire (521 kmetov na območju Haloz in Krasa) ter kvalitativno tematsko analizo intervjujev s kmeti, raziskovalci, odločevalci in kmetijskimi svetovalci. Kmetje so izkazali statistično značilno večje preference do rezultatskih shem kot do shem s predpisanimi praksami ter naklonjenost do individualnega pristopa k svetovanju. Za uspešno uveljavitev rezultatskih shem je nujno izboljšanje podatkovnih podlag, raziskav trajnostnih proizvodnih modelov ter usposobljenosti kadrov v nadzornih in svetovalnih službah.Agriculture is one of the most important factors in reducing biodiversity in the EU. However, the integration of nature conservation into the Common Agricultural Policy remains inadequate. The purpose of the doctoral dissertation is to study the planning, effects and evaluation of the Slovenian agricultural policy in the field of nature conservation. An analysis using BRT models showed a negative link between the diversity of farmland birds and direct payments, while environmental measures had a weak relative influence on bird diversity in the period 2008–2019. Bird diversity was highest in open landscapes on Natura 2000 sites that had a high diversity of agricultural plants and low stocking density. A programme theory analysis of the Slovenian agricultural policy showed numerous gaps in the definition of the intervention logic. Particularly lacking is a definition of objectives and indicators that would enable an assessment of the effectiveness of interventions. At the strategic level, the integration of nature conservation is limited mainly to voluntary measures. Strategies for preventing conflicts between nature conservation and other objectives of agricultural policy are mostly not defined. We estimated that in the 2014–2020 programming period, approximately 5 % (17.8–19.4 million EUR) of the annual budget of the Slovenian agricultural policy was allocated to nature conservation. The dissertation is concluded with an analysis of the possibilities for improving the result-orientation of agri-environmental measures, which was conducted with a discrete choice experiment (521 farmers in the Haloze and Karst area) and a qualitative thematic analysis of interviews with farmers, researchers, decision-makers and agricultural advisers. The farmers showed statistically significant higher preferences for result-based schemes than for schemes with prescribed practices and a preference for an individual approach to knowledge transfer. In order to successfully implement result-based schemes, it is necessary to improve data bases, research into sustainable production models and the training of staff in supervisory and advisory services

Ali bodo kmetje sodelovali na področju ohranjanja biodiverzitete?

Nature conservation in farmland is often based on the wide adoption of suitable farming practices, which are effectively coordinated at the landscape level. However, more advanced policy approaches to spatial coordination often require cooperation between farmers. We use quantitative analysis of 521 surveyed farmers and qualitative thematic analysis of 123 interviews in Natura 2000 sites Haloze and Krasin Slovenia to explore farmers’ preferences towards a collective bonus, which could stimulate higher adoption of grassland conservation schemes. Abandonment of farming, low interest in agri-environmental schemes and changes in social relations (individualisation of farming and distrust among actors) were identified as critical barriers to farmer cooperation in the context of agri-environmental policy.Varstvo narave v kmetijskih ekosistemih pogosto temelji na primernih kmetijskih praksah, ki se morajo izvajati na velikih površinah in morajo biti učinkovito usklajene na krajinski ravni. Naprednejši pristopi politik k prostorskemu usklajevanju zato pogosto zahtevajo sodelovanje med kmetijskimi gospodarstvi. S kvantitativno analizo 521 anket in kvalitativno tematsko analizo 123 intervjujev na območjih Natura 2000 v Halozah in na Krasu v Sloveniji smo raziskali preference kmetovalcev do skupinskega bonusa, ki bi lahko spodbudil večje vključevanje v ukrepe za ohranjanje travišč. Kot ključne ovire za sodelovanje med kmeti v okviru kmetijsko-okoljske politike smo prepoznali opuščanje kmetovanja, nizek interes za kmetijsko-okoljske ukrepe in spremembe družbenih odnosov, kot sta individualizacija kmetovanja in nezaupanje med akterji