Abstract
CONTEXTMost Western-European countries exceed the critical loads for nitrogen (N) losses. High nitrogen (N) inputs make agriculture one of the largest contributors to N pollution. There might be a potential to reduce this losses with an output tax on animal products, as they have low N use efficiency and a tax has the potential to reduce the consumption of this products. OBJECTIVEWe want to assess the potential of a food tax on animal products to reduce the N surplus of Swiss agriculture. METHODSWe implemented a tax on meat and a tax on milk and meat in the agent-based model SWISSland. The model combines an agent-based model with a microeconomic model at the farm scale. To better understand the low response of the food tax, we applied in a second step a robust two-step global sensitivity analysis of abatement costs of individual model agents. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONSImposing a tax led to an N surplus reduction of 2.1% where only meat was taxed and 2.3% where both milk and meat were taxed. The sensitivity analysis showed that distinct agents reacted non-uniformly to changing prices, so that the effect of the tax was sometimes even cancelled out. This calls for more differentiated policies to reduce the negative impact of N losses. SIGNIFICANCEThe overall impact of the food tax was minor as the distinct agents react not uniformly to lower producer prices.
Highlights
Nitrogen (N) is a key limiting nutrient in agricultural production
We want to assess the potential of a food tax on animal products to reduce the N surplus of Swiss agriculture
To better understand the low response of the food tax, we applied in a second step a robust two-step global sensitivity analysis of abatement costs of individual model agents
Summary
Nitrogen (N) is a key limiting nutrient in agricultural production. due to excessive inputs of reactive N and low N use efficiency in agricultural production, N surpluses are above the critical loads in most Western European countries, including Switzerland (Sutton et al, 2011). The Swiss Federal Offices for the Environment and for Agriculture defined agri-environmental goals for NO3− concentrations in water bodies and agricultural NH3 and greenhouse gas emissions in 2008 and 2016 (BAFU (Bundesamt für Umwelt) and BLW (Bundesamt für Land wirtschaft), 2008; BAFU (Bundesamt für Umwelt) and BLW (Bundesamt für Landwirtschaft), 2016). The level of N surpluses in Switzerland has been stagnant since the 1990s, at about 110 kg N ha− 1 yr− 1 (Spiess, 2011) Their reduction at national level was initiated in the early 1990s by introducing a cross-compliance scheme that limited mineral fertiliser inputs on farms and included farmyard manure in the fertilisation regime (Spiess, 2011; Jan et al, 2017)
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