Spatial Analysis of Income Inequality in Agriculture

We investigate the spatial dimension of farm household income inequality as well as the importance of spatial considerations for its development over time using data for the period 1990-2009 on Swiss agriculture. To this end, Gini coefficients are estimated and non-parametric bootstrap is used to construct confidence intervals. We find significant differences between Gini coefficients across space, even though most cantons are characterized by homogeneous farm household income inequality. No significant change of Gini coefficients over time is found at the national level. In contrast, the analyses at the cantonal level show a heterogeneous development of income inequality. We find both increases and decreases in cantonal Gini coefficients.income inequality, agriculture, Gini coefficient, spatial analysis

Distributional effects of direct payments in Switzerland

The switch from market-support to direct payments in Switzerland had impacts on the income distribution among farmers. In this paper, the distributional effect of the switch as a whole and of the different kinds of direct payments are elaborated through a presentation of different decomposed Gini coefficients. Although the income distribution in Swiss Agriculture is still more equal than in most other countries, the Gini coefficient has risen from 0.27 in 1990 to 0.38 in 2009 and is by now strongly dependent on the composition of direct payments. Off-farm income and direct payments decrease, while market income increases income inequality.income distribution, direct payments, Gini decomposition, agricultural policy, Agricultural and Food Policy, Q00, Q18, Q28.,

Towards more evidence-based agricultural and food policies

The goal of this paper is to provide insights into how scientific evidence can be used for policymaking and put evidence-based agriculture and food policies at the top of research and policy agendas. We illustrate how scientific evidence can be used in a targeted manner for better policymaking and present an overview of the rich set of ex-ante and ex-post evaluation methods and tools that agricultural economists use for evaluating agricultural policies to provide evidence for policy decisions. We present insights into both established and new/emerging methods and approaches, including their advantages and disadvantages, and discuss their potential use for policy evaluation. We also discuss how methods and approaches should be combined and could be better targeted towards decision-makers. The paper also discusses the crucial role of high-quality data in supporting the science—policy interface. Finally, we present an overview of papers in this special issue titled ‘Evidence-Based Agricultural and Food Policy: The Role of Research for Policy Making’

Determinants of the perceived administrative transaction costs caused by the uptake of an agri-environmental program

Farmers’ subjectively perceived that administrative transaction costs are of high importance for the uptake of agri-environmental programs with direct effects on the effectiveness and efficiency of these programs and the well-being of farmers. This paper empirically estimates private administrative transaction costs resulting from an uptake of the newly introduced grassland-based milk and meat program in Switzerland, based on farmers’ perceived administrative workload. Using ordered logit models, we analyze how the administrative tasks and farm and farmer characteristics influence the perceived administrative workload. We find that the time spent on monitoring or inspection tasks has no effect. In contrast, an outsourcing of program-related administrative tasks significantly reduces the perceived administrative workload. We also find that a better understanding of agricultural policy regulations significantly reduces the farmers’ perceived administrative workload. We recommend that public administration improve the communication of agricultural policy regulations, rather than investing in the simplification of administrative forms

Analyse des Bio-Sektors im Kanton Aargau

Dieser Bericht beinhaltet die Analyse des biologischen Agrar- und Lebensmittelsektors (nachfolgend „Bio-Sektor“) im Kanton Aargau in der Schweiz. Die Analyse dient als Grundlage für den Bio-Aktionsplan Aargau, der im Rahmen des europäischen Interreg Projekts „SME Organics“ vom Forschungsinstitut für biologischen Landbau (FiBL) erarbeitet wird. Die Analyse beinhaltet die Untersuchung der gesamten Lebensmittelversorgungskette mit dem Ziel das Entwicklungspotential für KMUs im Bio-Sektor zu identifizieren. In einem ersten Schritte wurden das politische Umfeld und die regulatorischen Rahmenbedingungen auf nationaler und regionaler Ebene untersucht. Dies beinhaltet eine allgemeine Betrachtung der Schweizer Agrarpolitik wie auch das Programm für nachhaltige Ernährungssysteme der UN und bestehende Schweizer Bio-Aktionspläne. In einem nächsten Schritt wurde der Bio-Sektor der Schweiz und des Kantons Aargau unter die Lupe genommen. Dies beinhaltet in erster Linie die Betrachtung landwirtschaftlicher und volkswirtschaftlicher Kennzahlen, sowie die allgemeine Beschreibung der aargauischen Bio-Landwirtschaft und des Schweizer Bio-Lebensmittelmarktes. Ausserdem wurden bestehende Fördermassnahmen, die für den regionalen Bio-Sektor von Relevanz sein könnten untersucht und zusammengefasst. Die genannten Untersuchungen stützen sich auf statistische Daten des Bio-Sektors vom Bundesamt für Statistik und von Bio Suisse (Vereinigung Schweizer Biolandbau-Organisationen). Bei der Analyse des aargauischen Bio-Sektors spielt die Zusammenarbeit mit Marktteilnehmern, politischen und anderen Interessengruppen eine zentrale Rolle. Ihr Votum wurde im Rahmen von Interviews, schriftlichen Befragungen und einem Workshop im März 2017 erfasst. Basierend darauf wurden SWOT- (Stärken, Schwächen, Chancen, Gefahren) Analysen für vier verschiedene Bereiche der Bio-Wertschöpfungskette gemacht: Landwirtschaftliche Produktion, Verarbeitung, Bio-Fachhandel und Gastronomie. Abgeleitet daraus wurden während des Workshops sechs übergeordnete Handlungsfelder für den Bio-Aktionsplan Aargau definiert: - Leitbild Bio-Branche Aargau - Plattform Bio-Wertschöpfungskette Aargau - Lebensmittel-Märkte mit Bio-Produkten - Berufsbildung – mehr über Bio-Produktion - Konsumentinnen- und Konsumenten-Sensibilisierung für Bio-Landwirtschaft und Bio-Produkte - Kompetenzzentrum Verarbeitung und Entwicklung der Bio-Branche im Aarga

Produktivität biologisch bewirtschafteter Weiden und Wiesen im Kanton Solothurn

Die Produktivität von 54 Dauergraslandparzellen im Schweizer Kanton Solothurn zeigte keine statistisch signifikanten Unterschiede, aber eine starke Tendenz zu einem niedrigeren Ertrag und einem geringeren Phosphorgehalt im Boden auf biologisch gegenüber konventionell bewirtschafteten Weiden

Der Einfluss biologischer Bewirtschaftung auf Ökosystemleistungen von Wiesen und Weiden

Wir untersuchten den Einfluss von biologischer Bewirtschaftung sowie Beweidung auf elf Ökosystemleistungen (ÖSL) auf 54 intensiv bewirtschafteten Grasländern in der Schweiz. Biologische Bewirtschaftung förderte nur eine der ÖSL, dagegen wurden sechs von Beweidung positiv oder negativ beeinflusst

Farm typologies for understanding farm systems and improving agricultural policy

CONTEXT: Farm typologies help to identify patterns across a wide range of farm systems and describe heterogeneity in agriculture concisely. They can also support the design of agricultural policies by providing information and knowledge about policy target groups. For example, voluntary agri-environmental schemes could be tailored to specific agricultural landscapes and farm types. Farm typologies, however, are often developed from scratch, with limited connection to previous studies and policy making. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study is to clarify the purposes of farm typologies in research and agricultural policy making and to develop a framework that allows to increase the usefulness and usability of farm typologies for agricultural policy making. METHODS: Based on a review of 13 systematically identified overview studies on farm typologies, we develop a framework that establishes connections between the purposes of farm typologies along the different stages of the policy process. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: We find multiple purposes for farm typologies, the two most common of which are for understanding the characteristics, heterogeneity, and development of farm systems and for policy making. The newly developed framework suggests that connecting knowledge across these purposes could improve the validity, transferability, and relevance of farm typologies for agricultural policy making. Our framework also provides an entry point for encouraging cooperation between developers and users of typologies, and for the improvement of typologies through new data (including behavioural data) and methods such as machine learning. We conclude that future research can build on the existing work on farm typologies but must be aware of the specific challenges that are associated with the use of farm typologies in the policy process. SIGNIFICANCE: Knowledge of the prospects and challenges of using farm typologies allows to increase the usefulness and usabilityof these typologies and can contribute to the design of targeted and tailored agricultural policy instruments. By increasing the acceptance, perceived fairness, and legitimacy, this can improve their effectiveness and efficiency, which is urgently needed for a successful transformation to a more sustainable agricultural sector

Scenarios for European agricultural policymaking in the era of digitalisation

CONTEXT Digitalisation affects the agri-food sector and its governance. However, what digitalisation of the sector will imply for future agricultural policymaking remains unclear. OBJECTIVE The objective of the study is to develop and evaluate explorative scenarios of digitalisation in the agri-food sector of Europe that are explicitly relevant to agricultural policy. The study aims to provide guidance for strategic development of agricultural policy to address the potentials, uncertainties and unknowns arising with digitalisation of the sector. METHODS We combine a Delphi study and a participatory scenario workshop to develop and evaluate plausible explorative scenarios of digitalisation of Europe's agri-food sector. For all scenarios we identify gaps in achieving a range of important European agricultural policy goals, drawing on the Delphi study and desk-based analysis. Subsequently we deduce strategies to address these agricultural policy gaps. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS Four scenarios of digitalisation of the agri-food sector were developed for Europe in 2030. They comprise of 1) digitalisation of the sector following current directions at current rates as a baseline scenario, 2) strong digitalisation of a regulatory government, 3) use of autonomous farming technology and 4) digitalised food business. These explorative scenarios entail various gaps in achieving European agricultural policy goals. Our findings suggest that the baseline scenario needs strategies to ramp up technological and institutional infrastructure for digitalisation. The other scenarios need strategies to prevent risks, e.g., of technological failures or undesired social impacts. They also need strategies to cater for special cases and diversity, e.g., of ecosystems and farming practices. Across the scenarios, it seems useful to increase digital competencies of the stakeholders. SIGNIFICANCE The study is the first that derives implications for policy strategies from explorative scenarios of future digitalisation of agricultural systems that target gaps in achieving agricultural policy goals. The combination of developing and analysing scenarios generated findings that are of significance to policymaking stakeholders and researchers alike, who all need to address the uncertainties arising with future digitalisation of the agri-food sector