Evaluation of Ecosystem Services production under different Agricultural Policy Scenarios

The objective of this study is to test a methodology for the classification of areas according to the provision of ecosystem services (ES) and for the evaluation of the effects of different agricultural policy scenarios on such classification. The framework was applied to the classification of the 26 municipalities of the province of Ferrara, Italy. The case study area can be considered a traditional cultural landscape, characterised by historical-cultural sites, agricultural areas and protected areas of natural importance. The evaluation focuses on the different categories of ES and applies a set of indicators available from secondary data sources assessing different aspects of ES. From the policy perspective, the context was represented by the pre-2014 CAP and represented the Baseline scenario. In the next stage, the model simulated a New CAP scenario, based on the measures of the RDP 2014-2020 that are addressed on restoring and enhancing ecosystems. The classification approach in each of the two scenarios was implemented under two weighting solutions. As a general remark, it is observed that the provision of ES varies greatly from one municipality to the next. All the municipalities offer a significant number of provisioning and cultural services, mainly connected to recreational opportunities. From the experience carried out in this study, we can conclude that the application of the PROMETHEE, in particular with the integration of the weights for the ES indicators, has shown the potential to support the characterisation of agricultural land in terms of the provision of multiple ES. The study presents MCDA as a suitable tool to illustrate the differences in the provision of ES in different case study areas. To some extent, in spite of the limitations of this work, this also applies to analyzing the consequences of different agricultural policy scenarios in the provision of these services

Using the ecosystem services framework for policy impact analysis: An application to the assessment of the common agricultural policy 2014-2020 in the province of Ferrara (Italy)

The objective of this study is to test a methodology for the classification of areas according to the provision of ecosystem services and for the evaluation of the effects of different agricultural policy scenarios. The evaluation focuses on the different categories of Ecosystem Services (ES) and applies a set of indicators available from secondary data sources. Two scenarios were compared, represented by the pre-2014 CAP and the CAP 2014-2020, based on the measures of the RDP 2014-2020 focused on enhancing ecosystems. The approach was implemented under two weighting solutions. First, we assumed that all indicators have equal weight. As a further step, the framework was integrated with a weighting procedure in order to account for the different importance of the various ES indicators. All municipalities offer a significant number of provisioning and cultural services, mainly connected to recreational opportunities. The indicators with higher importance in the area represent provisioning, supporting and regulating services, while cultural services have received less attention. Comparing the results of the simulation of different policy scenarios, there are no significant differences since the CAP 2014-2020 does not provide for measures likely to affect substantially the overall production of ecosystem services. While this result is plausible, the study confirms the limitations of available secondary data in providing a full account of ecosystem services provision and of their variations as a result of policy

The value of information for the management of water resources in agriculture: Assessing the economic viability of new methods to schedule irrigation

Abstract This study develops a methodology to assess the comparative advantages of new methods to plan irrigation with respect to prevailing existing irrigation practices. The methodology consists of a comparative cost-benefit analysis based on the Value of Information approach that makes it possible to analyse whether an improvement in the information available to farmers generates economic benefits. The method is applied to the problem of comparing computer irrigation models (providing irrigation advice based on measurements, water balance models and weather predictions) and prevailing irrigation practices (at times based on soil and plant observations, or on advanced technologies) in estimating and predicting crop water requirements, in pilot experiments located in four different European regions. The results reveal that the introduction of the alternative method improves the performance of irrigation practices in Mediterranean regions that are characterised by high weather variability and for those crops for which the consequences of failing to meet predictions are relatively low (i.e. tomato instead of maize, drip irrigated crops instead of sprinkler irrigated crops). Under favourable conditions, the use of the alternative technology generates a 0–20% increase in gross margin and a 10–30% water saving with respect to prevailing existing irrigation practices. The study concludes by addressing the conditions that justify the use of advanced information systems to schedule irrigation interventions and by offering some policy recommendations to drive their uptake. These include subsidising research at the evaluation stage and public investments aimed at knowledge creation (weather and shallow water table monitoring stations) and knowledge sharing (counselling) at the adoption stage

The evaluation of Ecosystem Services production: an application in the Province of Ferrara

This paper presents an evaluation of the provision of Ecosystem Services (ES). The analysis is based on the design of a framework suitable to be translated into a multi-criteria evaluation process, followed by empirical testing. It focuses on the different categories of ES and applies a set of non-overlapping indicators available from existing statistical sources. The framework is applied in a traditional cultural landscape, the Province of Ferrara, situated in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. To develop an applicable framework, we have chosen a set of ES indicators from the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. According to the results and based on the indicators used in each category, the provision of cultural and provisioning services is high in all of the municipalities, while  there is greater diversity in the provision of regulating and supporting services. A key challenge in our analysis was related to the lack of information on the actual provision of ES at the municipality level, which led to a significant use of proxy indicators. Use of improved datasets, explicit consideration of policy scenarios and accounting for local priorities about ES provision have been identified as the most relevant avenues for future research in this area

Deliverable D4.4 Policy guidelines and good practices to boost legume cultivation in the EU Fostering sustainable legume-based farming systems and agri-feed and food chains in the EU, LEGVALUE, Grant agreement ID: 727672

Introducing sustainable legume-based farming systems The agricultural industry plays a vital role in ensuring the sustainability of populations and meeting their food requirements. It is also a significant component of various value chains, supplying essential goods. Therefore, it is essential to introduce innovations that can minimise its environmental impact and enhance its overall sustainability, thereby mitigating the impact of climate change. The EU-funded LEGVALUE project aims to develop and implement new farming systems based on legumes that are both sustainable and competitive. The project’s objective is to integrate these systems into European food chains and agri-feed systems. To accomplish this, the project will highlight the economic and environmental benefits of these legume-based farming systems and provide evidence of their positive impact on a list of 20 value chains

Evaluation of ecosystem services production under different Agricultural Policy Scenarios

This paper presents an evaluation of the provision of Ecosystem Services. The overall aim is to contribute in understanding the value and improving valuation methods for ecosystem, in an attempt to provide an instrument that contributes to closing the gap between the ES concept, regional planning and agricultural policies. The analysis is based on the design of a framework suitable to be translated in a multicriteria evaluation process, followed by its empirical testing. It focuses on the different categories of the ES trying a set of indicators that is non-overlapping and without redundancy, and assessing different aspects of ES: the capacity of ecosystems to provide services, changes in the provision of ES, and benefits thus derived. The framework is applied in the 26 municipalities of the Province of Ferrara. To develop an applicable framework, we have chosen a set of ES from the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. The focus of this paper is the evaluation of the provision of ecosystem services that are currently provided by agricultural areas that evidently support provisioning services and are appreciated for their recreational value explaining their inclusion under recreation services. While existing ecosystem service metrics and indicators have many gaps and limitations, applying those existing indicators in diverse policy processes and further assessments should be a priority

The evaluation of Ecosystem Services production: an application in the Province of Ferrara

This paper presents an evaluation of the provision of Ecosystem Services (ES). The analysis is based on the design of a framework suitable to be translated into a multi-criteria evaluation process, followed by empirical testing. It focuses on the different categories of ES and applies a set of non-overlapping indicators available from existing statistical sources. The framework is applied in a traditional cultural landscape, the Province of Ferrara, situated in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. To develop an applicable framework, we have chosen a set of ES indicators from the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. According to the results and based on the indicators used in each category, the provision of cultural and provisioning services is high in all of the municipalities, while there is greater diversity in the provision of regulating and supporting services. A key challenge in our analysis was related to the lack of information on the actual provision of ES at the municipality level, which led to a significant use of proxy indicators. Use of improved datasets, explicit consideration of policy scenarios and accounting for local priorities about ES provision have been identified as the most relevant avenues for future research in this area

Multicriteria analysis for grouping and ranking European Union rural areas based on social sustainability indicators

Social sustainability is \u2018one of the three legs of the sustainability stool\u2019 (the other two are environmental and economic). There is limited literature that focuses on social sustainability to the extent that a comprehensive study of this concept is still missing. As a result, there have been very few attempts to define social sustainability as an independent dimension of sustainable development. Social sustainability is related to social capital, social inclusion, social exclusion and social cohesion in rural economies, terms that are measured by relevant social sustainability indicators. This paper aims to measure these indicators and to compare them. In order to measure these indicators, a household survey carried out in the context of the research project CAP-IRE. This survey included 11 case study areas in nine case study areas of the European Union. From the results of this survey, we measured a set of economic and social sustainability indicators. We have selected the main social sustainability indicators on which we based to proceed to the grouping and ranking of the 11 European rural areas

Sustainable planning of agricultural production

This paper presents a model for sustainable planning and optimisation of agricultural production. The model is a mathematical programming model, based on multicriteria techniques, and can be used as a tool for the analysis and simulation of production plans, as well as for the study of impacts of the various policies in agriculture. The model can achieve the optimum production plan of an agricultural region combining in one utility function different conflicting criteria as the maximisation of gross margin and the minimisation of fertilisers used, under a set of constraints for land, labour, available capital, common agricultural policy, etc. The proposed model was applied to the four prefectures of the region of Thessaly, in central Greece. The data needed resulted from the research project entitled 'Sustainable management of soil-water sources of Thessaly aiming at the optimum agricultural production (SMaRT)' funded by EEA grants. In all prefectures, the optimum production plan presents greater gross return, less fertilisers used, and less irrigated water used than the existent production plan