Assessing the Landscape Recovery Scheme in the UK: a Q methodology study in Yorkshire, UK

Abstract

Embedded within the European Union’s Green Deal is a re-enforced scope to encourage farmers’ participation in primarily voluntary agri-environmental schemes. Although outside of the European Union, the newly announced agri-environment schemes in England mirror such a policy shift towards incentivising participation in order to delivery more and better climate public goods. Farmers’ viewpoints regarding such schemes and contracts are therefore important to examine as they should be main determinants of current and future enrolment. In this paper, upland Yorkshire farmers are asked to express their opinions for the landscape Recovery scheme that aims to encourage collaboration and achieve landscape-wide interventions to ensure lasting delivery of climate public goods. Viewpoints show a dichotomy between pragmatic and environmentally-conscious farmers with preferences leaning towards ‘broad and shallow’ schemes that would have simple contract requirements and only achieve marginal gainsin the delivery of agri-environmental climate public goods.