Abstract
The Common Agricultural Policy 2014–2020, set up in 2015 and extended until 31 December 2022, introduced a payment instrument called Greening. The aim of Greening was to encourage agricultural practices that are beneficial for the environment while also contributing to economic and territorial dynamism. The purpose of this article is to study the effect that Greening has had in Spain. We consider five difference-in-difference models, one for each of the variables proposed: ecological focus areas, permanent grasslands over utilised agricultural area, CO2 emissions stemming from agricultural land use changes and the presence of woody crops, agricultural income, and affiliates of the special agricultural regime. The data used come from the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Food, the Ministry for Inclusion, Social Security, and Migrations, and the Spanish Emissions Inventory System. For the diff-in diff estimations, we use Spain’s regions as control and treatment units from 2011 to 2018, the aim being to provide observations ex ante Greening (2011–2014) and ex post (2015–2018). The results show that Greening had a limited impact, questioning its efficiency for meeting its goal, and that it is not a sound precedent for building the new green architecture of the CAP.
Highlights
The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) for the period 2014–2020, adopted in 2015 and extended until 2022, introduced a new instrument for direct support, Green Payment or Greening
With this reform of the CAP, in order to become eligible for the Greening payment, farmers had to adopt certain agricultural practices that are beneficial for the climate and the environment and in line with the structure of their farms: (a) crop diversification; (b) dedication of 5% of the land to an ecological focus area; (c) maintenance of existing permanent grassland
From the etasquared that was derived from the estimated models, it can be deduced that CO2 emissions increased by 1.23%, ecological focus areas by 0.46%, and permanent grasslands/utilized agricultural area (UAA) by
Summary
The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) for the period 2014–2020, adopted in 2015 and extended until 2022, introduced a new instrument for direct support, Green Payment or Greening. This ties part of income support to compliance with practices generating positive environmental impacts on agriculture in accordance with Regulation (EU) No. 1307/2013 of the European Parliament and the Council, dated 17 December 2013. With this reform of the CAP, in order to become eligible for the Greening payment, farmers had to adopt certain agricultural practices that are beneficial for the climate and the environment and in line with the structure of their farms: (a) crop diversification;.
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