Farm Level Spatial Microsimulation Modelling

Abstract

As discussed in Chap. 2, over the last decade, there has been an increase in interest in rural policy at the EU level. Indeed, the European Union Agenda 2000 agreement on agriculture contains an increased focus on rural development, acknowledging it as the second pillar of the Common Agricultural Policy. This increased focus on rural development at the EU level means that member states, including Ireland, have also increased their emphasis on rural development along a range of spectrums, such as reducing socio-economic disparities between regions, enhancing employment and competitiveness in rural areas, and re-orienting agricultural production. According to the Irish White Paper on Rural Development, one of the main goals of rural development policy in Ireland is to maintain “the maximum number of rural farms and especially family farms” (Irish Department of Agriculture and Food 2000).KeywordsFarm LevelCommon Agricultural PolicyFlat RateMicrosimulation ModelAverage Farm SizeThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.