Development of Mediterranean agriculture: An ecological approach

Abstract

Environmental conditions in Mediterranean Europe impose restrictions on the development of modern agrarian practice. Traditional Mediterranean agriculture generated landscapes of high environmental value, permitting the cultivation of a wide variety of crops with a sustained production, but with mean yields inferior to those of Atlantic Europe. In recent times the evolution of Mediterranean agriculture has followed a dual process of a more intensive production in more fertile lands and marginalization and abandonment of the least productive lands. Both tendencies have been exacerbated by the introduction of CAP mechanisms, resulting in environmental deterioration. The new set-aside and extensification policies increase the uncertainty concerning environmental quality in the Mediterranean area. It is therefore recommended to set up specific policies for each individual area, taking into consideration the particular ecological characteristics and development of the Mediterranean region, thereby safe-guarding the conservation of its interesting agrarian landscapes.