AGRI-ENVIRONMENTAL PAYMENTS AND TECHNICAL EFFICIENCY IN SOME SPECIALISED ITALIAN FARMS

Abstract

In the early 1990s the European Union has defined areas characterized by being nitrate vulnerable according to the Council Directive 91/676/EEC. In the same time, some major changes in the Common Agricultural Policy have proposed new actions in farms aimed at reducing the use of fertilizers and pesticides which has been compensated by the payments of agri-environmental measures. The main purpose of this research was to investigate if the technical efficiency of farms in function their location in area nitrate vulnerable whose percentage value is above the average estimated in all Italian regions and if the farming specialization impacts in the technical efficiency. The estimation of these two aspects since 2004 to 2020 using the FADN dataset has been done using the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and the Multidirectional Efficiency Analysis (MEA) able to assess the technical efficiency in each used input and produced output. Research’s findings have underlined as farms located in nitrate vulnerable areas have been characterized by an higher level of technical efficiency in and output even if they receive a less amount of agri-environmental payments. The specialization in farms seems to be driver able to impact in the technical efficiency as well.