Analysis of Intended Farmers’ Response to CAP Scenarios: Environmental considerations

This research is a result of the CAP-IRE project which objective is the understanding farmer’s reactions under CAP scenarios by 2020. In particular this research aims to analyze the role of the current CAP design on the farmer’s decision process focusing on several environmental issues. The analysis is based on 2,360 observations of household farmers across 11 cases study in 9 EU countries. Intended responses of farmers to the CAP reforms are analyzed by logistic model regression. According to the results CAP scenarios would influence farmer’s decision on fertilizers and pesticides, as well as water use, while the highest effect is found for decisions on number of animal rearing on the farm. Factors determining reaction to the CAP scenario are monetary and non-monetary, as well as structural and spatial. CAP role appears to be non univocal and strongly case-specific, as it substantially differs across regions according to their socio-economic structureEnvironmental sustainability, Farmer’s intended behaviour, Logistic regression, Agricultural policy, Agricultural and Food Policy, Environmental Economics and Policy, Q18,

Environmental Concerns in Water Pricing Policy:Â Â an Application of Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA)

Water management is subject to conflicting economic and environmental objectives, and policymakers require a clear overview of the different outcomes derived from different water management options. The aim of this paper is to assess the efficiency of several irrigation water pricing policies with a special focus on their environmental implications. Irrigation is chosen here as a crucial sector of water use in large parts of southern Europe, where pressure on the resource is expected to increase due to climate change. A novel methodological approach for performing an ex ante analysis of alternative water pricing policies is proposed here, where environmental and technical performance are simultaneously considered. This approach takes place in two steps: the first is a simulation of alternative water policies through a mathematical programming model, and the second is the analysis of results by using the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) technique. A case study is applied in Puglia (southern Italy), where irrigation is the primary factor of strategic relevance for policymakers regarding water management. Our results show that on the one hand alternative pricing policies perform similarly in terms of technical efficiency and environmental efficiency. On the other hand, inefficiency appears to depend mainly on technical rather than environmental concerns. According to the assigned weights, through the DEA technique, the highest improvement for inefficient options may be obtained by better labour use. We conclude that the proposed approach may be a comprehensive and versatile framework for water policy analysis, offering a tool for supporting the decision-making process.Irrigation, Policy assessment, Efficiency, Data Envelopment Analysis, Linear Programming

Efficiency of LEADER Programmes in the creation of tangible and intangible outputs: a Data Envelopment Analysis application to Local Action Groups performances

An emerging requirement for the evaluation of the rural development policy is the adoption of an objective method accounting for both material and immaterial achievements, and measuring the performance in order to understand the degree of accomplishment of policy objectives. In this paper we propose a Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) approach capable of dealing with economic and social indicators, to measure the (relative) technical efficiency of a set of Local Action Groups (LAGs) operating within the LEADER programme. An evaluation exercise referred to eight LAGs located in Italy, is provided to demonstrate the effects of the inclusion of social capital indicator in the evaluation of the LAGs’ performances. In particular, the DEA allows to measure the relative efficiency of the LAGs and to identify the causes of the inefficiency. The outcomes of the analysis may represent a valuable information support for periodical policy review and for the enhancement of best practices.Rural Development, LEADER, social capital, DEA, Agricultural and Food Policy, Q18, R58,

DEA application to evaluate the technical and ecological efficiency of water pricing policies

With the enforcement of the Water Framework Directive 2000/60/EC (WFD), policy makers are required to pursue the improvement of the use efficiency of the water resources in the agricultural sector. For this purpose, we suggest a methodology to perform an ex-ante analysis of the efficiency of water pricing policies, based on a two stage DEA technique, by which it is possible to disaggregate the technical and the ecological efficiency of the policy. According to our results, we found that, coherently with the WFD principles, the direct pricing methods show the highest levels of efficiency. However, we have also found that some indirect pricing methods show relatively high levels of efficiency. Therefore, since the high cost for the management and implementation of water measurement devices required to apply the volumetric methods, indirect pricing methods might still be preferable

Economic Effects of Legislative Framework Changes in Groundwater Use Rights for Irrigation

In most countries, groundwater resource is a public good, and the entitlement of use rights by the public authority to final users differs according to a country-specific legislative framework. In Italy, groundwater extraction has been regulated through non-tradable private licenses. At present, the public authority needs to reform the current legislative framework, in order to comply with the Water Framework Directive, aimed at the enhancement of the efficiency of the resource use. This research analyzes the effects of reforming the current framework based on non-tradable use rights, by comparing two different liberalization scenarios: an intra-sector market, and a regional market. Although positive economic benefits are generally expected from the liberalization of use rights at aggregated level, we want to analyze whether effects of the legislative framework causes uneven changes on some farm groups. The empirical case study refers to the Fortore river basin (South of Italy), where groundwater covers about 50–80% of current needs, and informal (though illegal) water markets across neighbor farmers already exist. From the findings, there is no evidence that the exchange liberalization of groundwater use rights leads to gains in terms of the value added and the farmer’s revenue. In addition, in the case of an auction system regulated by the public authority, farmers whose water productivity is higher may be able to gain, while others may suffer some losses. In this case, resistances from farmers’ associations towards the legislative framework reform may aris

Farmers’ stated responses towards the chemicals use under the CAP liberalization

Th e research aims to analyze the farmers’ preferences towards the chemical input use in the case of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) being removed after 2013. Th e analysis is based on a survey of European farmers carried out in 2009. Th e intended responses of farmers to the CAP liberalization are analyzed by the logit model regressions. Although for the majority of respondents there would be no change in their intentions if the CAP were suppressed, about 20% would intend to decrease the amount of chemicals. Th e eff ects of the CAP liberalization appear not to be univocal and strongly case-specifi c, as it substantially diff ers across the European regions, farm locations and socio-economic structures

The Determinants of Farmer’s Intended Behaviour Towards the Adoption of Energy Crops in Southern Spain: an Application of the Classification Tree-Method

Despite growing interest in biomass over the last number of years, bio-ener-gy derived from biomass currently contributes to a very small share of the total Spanish energy market. How individual farmers choose to respond to the opportunities presented by these relatively novel crops has still received scarce attention. In this paper, farmers’ intentions towards the adoption of energy crops are analyzed. A survey of 201 farm-households in Southern Spain is explored using a non-parametric approach based on classification tree algorithms. The main outcome of this analysis is that off-farm labour factor affects the adoption of energy crops on farm, together with farm specializations, size of owned land and farmer’s education. While the study confirms the relevance of the main determinants available from the literature, need for further research is emphasised

Análisis de las percepciones de agricultores y regantes sobre mercados de agua en la cuenca del Guadalquivir

Durante los últimos años el consumo creciente de agua en la Cuenca del Guadalquivir ha supuesto una alta productividad del agua a la par que un aumento del desfase entre la oferta y la demanda del recurso. El aumento de la superficie de riego, el cambio de cultivos y otras demandas, como son el consumo urbano y la producción energética, han llevado a la cuenca al límite de su capacidad y consumo, conduciendo al proceso conocido como “cierre de cuenca”, es decir, no existe más oferta de agua para nuevas o mayores demandas. En esta comunicación se analiza la trayectoria de consumo hídrico en las últimas décadas, así como su tendencia futura, para esclarecer los factores determinantes de la evolución: a) Aumento de superficie de riego; b) Nuevos cultivos; c) Nuevas demandas; d) Cierre administrativo de la cuenca; e) Menores dotaciones; f) Aumento del coste del agua; g) Generalización del riego deficitario; h) Cambio de sistemas de riego; i) Aumento de la productividad aparente del agua, y j) Cambio en la elasticidad de la demanda. Además, se exponen las estrategias a seguir para mejorar la gestión del agua, actualmente propuestas para la reforma del sistema de planificación y gestión dentro del Proyecto de Plan Hidrológico de Demarcación. Como resultado, se constata la necesidad de reformar, no tanto las normas en vigor, como su forma de aplicación, y se propone centrar las medidas de actuación sobre la gestión de la demanda y la mejora de la calidad del agua y de su servici

Analysis of Stakeholders’ Attitudes towards Water Markets in Southern Spain

This research examines stakeholders’ perceptions of and preferences for water markets in agriculture, focusing on the likely barriers that might refrain them from participating in such markets. The research was carried out on the Guadalquivir River Basin and involved semi-quantitative methods, combining a structured survey and focus group discussions. A very simple questionnaire was administered to each irrigation stakeholder (i.e., managers, water right holders and non-holders). The main result is that stakeholders will only keep selling water seasonally as the rights remain linked to the land. Nonetheless, some relevant differences among stakeholders were found. Managers seem to be more interested in selling water than farmers. Another important discrepancy was found between water rights holders and non-holders. Access to a water rights system, types of existing infrastructure, and legal and administrative aspects are also important factors influencing the acceptability of water trading in the study area. These results might be helpful to policymakers who are currently evaluating the potential for water markets in Europe and have little observable market data to work with