Agricultural Policy Research Articles

The role of agricultural cooperatives in mitigating opportunism in the context of complying with sustainability requirements: empirical evidence from Spain

AbstractThe convergence of emerging sustainability regulations and recommendations outlined in the European, national and regional agricultural policies, coupled with the growing demand from retailers for food produced through more sustainable agriculture practices, presents a substantial challenge for farmers. This challenge is further exacerbated by their limited access to essential information, knowledge, and resources necessary for compliance, which are often acquired through interactions with various stakeholders within the agri-food supply chain. Moreover, the inherent power asymmetry between small-scale farmers and their considerably larger counterparts, including input suppliers and agricultural product buyers, exposes farmers to opportunistic behaviours. In response to these challenges, agri-food cooperatives have been proposed as an organizational solution to mitigate opportunistic behaviour. However, empirical data-supported evidence of this proposition remains scarce. Drawing upon data obtained from Spanish farmers, our study investigates the impact of agri-food cooperatives on the incidence of opportunistic practices experienced by farmers during their interactions with suppliers and buyers. Through a propensity score matching analysis, our findings reveal that cooperative membership exerts a statistically significant negative influence on both supplier and buyer opportunism in the context of complying with sustainability requirements. These findings provide compelling empirical evidence of the pivotal role played by agri-food cooperatives in addressing opportunism within the supply chain. Importantly, they underscore the vital importance of cooperatives in mitigating the challenges associated with enhancing sustainability in agriculture.

Extrinsic Motivation vs. Intrinsic Motivation: Key Factors Influencing Farmers' Land Quality Protection Behavior in China.

The crowding effect of individual behavior motivation is a focal point in various disciplines, such as economics and social psychology. Understanding the motivation crowding effect in the context of pro-environmental behavior of farmers is crucial for formulating agricultural environmental policies. However, there is limited knowledge about the motivation crowding effect on farmers' land quality protection behavior, especially in developing countries. This study employs stratified regression models, propensity score matching models, seemingly unrelated regression models, and simple slope analysis methods to analyze the impact of extrinsic motivations (external incentives such as increasing farming income and production yield) and intrinsic motivations (internal drives such as personal satisfaction and responsibility) on farmers' land quality protection behavior, as well as the motivation crowding effect between extrinsic and intrinsic motivations. The analysis is based on survey data from 1064 smallholder farmers in five provinces in China: Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Henan, Shaanxi, and Gansu. The results indicate that both extrinsic and intrinsic motivations have a positive impact on farmers' land quality protection behavior. Notably, extrinsic motivation exhibits a crowding-out effect on intrinsic motivation, suggesting a motivation crowding effect. While promoting farmers' land quality protection behavior through economic incentives is a feasible short-term solution, it may not effectively foster the long-term formation of such behaviors. Given the current context of severe land pollution, alleviating this issue through economic incentives represents a short-term policy approach. Thus, transitioning from short-term to long-term solutions by enhancing farmers' intrinsic motivation to promote farmers' land quality protection behavior is essential for the government to consider in future land protection policy formulation.

For Spatial Planning and Land Consolidation Issue

Planning the rational use of land's potential capabilities is one of the most important functions in Georgia. When developing the state policy in this area, it is essential to take into account that the implemented policy directly affects the country's socio-economic development. The given article states that determining the land status is part of the country's territory planning and development plan, moreover, changing the status of the land is almost impossible without making changes to the spatial planning of the territory. The article states that in most European countries, changing the designation of land is within the competence of the government and describes the needs to be addressed by various European countries (permit of the relevant state institution, compliance with the spatial development plan, imposition of a tax on the change of category, with certain exceptions, a general ban on changing the category of land, etc.). It also discusses examples of various mechanisms for land consolidation in Eastern and Central European countries. At the end of the article, the conclusion is made that under the conditions of Georgia, the state should develop a plan for the privatization of the remaining agricultural land in its possession, the primary goal of which should not be the increase of budget revenues, but rather ensuring the effective use of land resources. This process should consider: registering the landownership for the actual owner, registering land ownership for municipalities, and the alienation of land remaining in state ownership, which should ultimately contribute to the consolidation of small farms. Keywords: land, land categories, land disposal, agricultural policy, spatial planning, land consolidation, land management, agrarian territories.

Agroecology Issues in Agricultural Policy and Allied Science Policies in Tanzania

Agroecology Issues in Agricultural Policy and Allied Science Policies in Tanzania

Exploring the Motives Behind the Adoption of Climate Change Adaptation Strategies among Farmers in the Czech Republic

AbstractClimate change threatens agriculture in the EU and is a primary issue discussed in the European Green Deal within the Common Agricultural Policy. Central and Eastern European countries are particularly prone to climate change effects, such as droughts and extreme weather. Therefore, agriculture in Central and Eastern Europe is expected to be increasingly affected by shifting climatic patterns. This study examines the motivation for adopting adaptation strategies derived from climate-smart agriculture among farmers in the Czech Republic. We drew particular attention to analyzing the influence of farm-level and information source variables on the adaptation behavior of Czech farmers. The dataset comprises 358 respondents who were asked about climate change adaptation through a quantitative survey. We analyzed the collected data via descriptive statistics and binary logit regression models. The analysis results reveal a high degree of awareness and a diversified usage of climate change adaptation strategies among the respondents. The close linkage between perceived profitability and the willingness to adapt to climate change requires policymakers to communicate economic benefits within this context further. Information sources, such as topic-specific journals, research institutions, and field training, positively influenced the adaptation rates among the sample. Therefore, we recommend focusing on these media channels to communicate targets set within the European Green Deal.

The Setting-Up Measure to Support Generational Renewal in Agriculture: The Italian Experience

Since the 1970s, the issue of ageing farmers and generational renewal in agriculture has consistently attracted the attention of policymakers. However, despite successive reforms of the European Union Structural Funds, efforts to encourage young people to enter the agricultural sector remain largely focused on agricultural and rural policies, specifically on the First Settlement scheme. This paper highlights the role of the European Union’s rural development policy in supporting and encouraging generational renewal in agriculture. A qualitative analysis of the Italian case examining some of the demographic changes that have occurred within the agricultural system at the regional level has been conducted. The analysis is based on the comparison of policy implementations in different programming periods. Using data from the General Censuses of Agriculture and the Italian Agricultural Payments Agency—supplemented by the Annual Implementation Reports of the Italian Rural Development Programmes—the research traces the evolution of initiatives supporting young farmers. The main findings reveal a notable decline in the number of young people in the primary sector over the last decade, together with an ageing population of agricultural farmers. Measures to support young farmers under the Common Agricultural Policy appear to be ineffective in countering the ageing trend. There is scope for integrated policies to enhance the attractiveness and profitability of rural areas and to ensure long-term sustainable generational renewal in the agricultural sector.

Agricultural Water Conservation Methods: Application, Difficulties, and Innovation

The largest growth in water usage among water-using industries has been in agriculture due to the growing need for agricultural goods to feed the world's expanding population. Presently, agricultural water conservation encompasses a range of technologies that are mostly grounded in human understanding, but also include a number of complex strategies that significantly rely on cutting-edge mechanical and electrical techniques. Modern agronomic practices like precision agriculture may conserve water. Precision agriculture is a modern agronomic strategy that may preserve water.Modern agricultural investments, land transfers, and urbanisation have left these irregular and traditionally built villages with an ambiguous and ever-changing land use pattern. This may hinder water-saving adoption. In addition to taking into account the growth of the agricultural sector, the agricultural water management policy prioritises the long-term ecological economy and the sustainability of the water resource supply network. Water needs are predicted to rise significantly by the end of the twenty-first century, particularly for irrigation. Reducing the amount of water used in agriculture is crucial. With temperatures rising and droughts occurring more frequently in many nations, water is a vital component of agricultural output. Certain technology-based practices coupled with efficient farmers and humans management of water resources will be the key features for improving water conservation.

Evaluating Enteric Fermentation-Driven Environmental Kuznets Curve Dynamics: A Bayesian Vector Autoregression Comparative Study of the EU and Least Developed Countries

Global warming and climate change, primarily driven by human activities, with agriculture playing a significant role, have become central topics of scientific research. Livestock production, especially enteric fermentation, is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions, making it a focal point for both climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies. Both the European Union (EU) and Least Developed Countries (LDCs) are highly dependent on agriculture, particularly livestock, which plays a key role in their economic growth. In developing countries, livestock systems are evolving rapidly due to various factors, while in the EU, the livestock sector remains economically and socially significant, representing 36% of total agricultural activity. This study explores the environmental impact of enteric fermentation in livestock production, alongside the economic value it generates in both the EU and LDCs. The analysis utilizes a Bayesian Vector Autoregression (BVAR) methodology, which provides a more robust performance compared to traditional models like Vector Autoregression (VAR) and the Vector-error Correction Model (VECM). This research identifies significant relationships between the variables studied, with structural breaks quantified to reflect the impact of initiatives undertaken in both regions. Interestingly, the results challenge the environmental Kuznets curve, which hypothesizes an inverted U-shaped relationship between economic growth and environmental degradation, as proposed by Stern. This suggests that stronger economic incentives may be necessary to enhance policy effectiveness and promote eco-efficiency. The distinctive characteristics of livestock production in the EU and LDCs should be carefully considered when shaping agricultural policies, with a strong emphasis on farmer education as a critical factor for success. Additionally, corporate management practices must be tailored to address the unique needs, strengths, and challenges of livestock businesses in these two diverse regions.

Land of wolves, school of shepherds: the importance of pastoral knowledge on co-existence with large carnivores

ABSTRACT The wolf (Canis lupus) is recovering and recolonizing its historic range in Europe. In places where wolves have long been absent, their recent recolonization could potentially provoke extensive livestock farmers’ opposition. To understand the conditions for extensive grazing-wolf co-existence, we conducted interviews with livestock farmers and shepherds to compare three Spanish regions in different wolf presence states: uninterrupted wolf presence, recent wolf recolonization and sporadic wolf presence. Our results show the importance of Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) for reducing conflict and enabling co-existence. In areas where wolves were extinct and have been recently recolonized, loss of TEK has led to less of both tolerance to wolves and awareness of the benefits they provide. Conversely, in areas where wolf presence has been uninterrupted, maintaining the TEK associated with livestock management, such as use of mastiff dogs and shepherd's role, has favored the co-existence of extensive grazing systems with wolves. Our findings have important implications for the EU Common Agricultural Policy by highlighting the urgent need to integrate the close link between TEK and the co-existence of extensive grazing systems with large carnivores. Furthermore, the EU Nature Restoration Law could reinforce these same approaches.

Agrivoltaic systems towards the European green deal and agricultural policies: a review

Excessive exploitation of natural resources has an environmental impact on ecosystems due to demographic and economic growth, and energy demand. For this reason, world economies have been implementing policy tools to achieve eco-friendly energy growth, minimizing environmental impact. It is necessary to increase Renewable Energies (RE) fraction in terms of electricity supply, improve energy efficiency and reduce energy consumption in greenhouses as well as in the agricultural sector. Thus, the European Green Deal (EGD) is a sustainable package of measures which, due to the ecological use of natural resources, strengthens the resilience of European food systems. The EGD’s objectives include: ensuring food security, reducing environmental impact, and supporting the farm to fork strategy and energy communities. The aim of this review is to present innovative energy technologies integrated with agrivoltaic systems to produce and utilize energy with eco-friendly methods. In this review, agrivoltaic systems were presented in the EGD perspective, since, as shown by several studies, they increase simultaneously clean energy production and crop yield, avoiding limitations in land use. As agrivoltaic systems produce energy by the installation of PV panels, an overview of PV technology was provided. PV panels can feed electricity to the power grid. Nowadays, since there are many impoverished rural areas which do not have access to electricity, a lot of projects have been developed that utilize power generation from microgrids combined with hybrid systems (e.g., wind and solar energy) to feed agricultural facilities or community buildings.

Climate Information as A Support for Optimizing Agricultural Public Policies: A Comparative Analysis Among Peasant Communities in The Middle Couffo (Benin) And Kpékplémé In the Middle Mono in The South-East of Togo

Responses to climate change often take the form of strengthening the resilience and adaptive capacities of communities vulnerable to hazards. To this end, climate information is very crucial and must constitute an essential element of local public agricultural policies. In this perspective, how do local communities participate in the popularization of climate information in order to establish sustainable strategies for climate resilience? This involves analyzing the role of local communities in agricultural extension through the dissemination of climate information. The methodological approach taken is based on the observation of the agrarian landscape and the modification of the finage, the techniques of resilience of the peasant communities and semi-structured interviews carried out with 221 targeted actors in three agricultural communes of Moyen-Couffo in Benin. and in Kpékplémé and Aklakou in southern Togo. The analytical approach oriented from the perspective of local agricultural public policies has made it possible to bring climate information closer to a competence of local communities. This article, based on a corpus of resilience itineraries, sheds light on the role of local authorities in anticipating and adapting to climate change. It appears from the cases studied that the promotion of sustainable adaptation strategies depends on a local public agricultural policy supported by planning and agricultural innovations based on climate information and their popularization by decentralized territorial entities.

Rural land systems both support and hinder the Sustainable Development Goals across Europe

AbstractAchieving sustainable rural land systems, including farms and forestry, is essential to achieve the European Union’s goal of fair and healthy food systems while becoming climate-neutral and halting biodiversity loss. Here we quantitatively assess the environmental and socioeconomic sustainability of rural land systems in Europe using spatial hotspot analyses based on 15 environmental and 9 social sustainability indicators from the European Sustainable Development Goals and the Common Agricultural Policy. We find high subsidy support for under-performing sustainability areas and low sustainability performance in areas producing the most calories. However, we identified two brightspots with good environmental and socioeconomic performance (Nordics and Central Europe), and five dragspots hindering sustainability: the Balkans, the Lowlands, Northern Italy, Southern Italy and Malta, and Southern Spain. Redirecting support to reward social and environmental benefits from land use can help achieve sustainability goals.

Transformation of trading patterns in global agricultural markets

The article analyses the key aspects of changes in international agricultural trade patterns, with the main emphasis on the analysis of modern factors shaping the agricultural market situation. The analysis of international trade is conducted in the context of the need to ensure food security and counteract various exogenous shocks (decreasing crop yields, escalating geopolitical conflicts, food crises). This analysis has allowed us to formulate the main determinants that will have a decisive impact on international agricultural trade in the future. It has been established that as a result of international trade, global demand for agricultural land has decreased, and imports are increasingly used by developing countries to solve food security problems. It is shown that geopolitical restrictions and climatic shocks are a key factor influencing global supply chains and changing patterns of international trade in agricultural raw materials and food. The uncertainties that have arisen make it difficult to adequately forecast global flows of agricultural exports and imports, while the current agricultural policies of countries around the world remain virtually unchanged. In prospective studies of international agricultural trade, considerable attention should be paid to issues of supply stability.

Soil organic carbon stocks as driven by land use in Mato Grosso State: the Brazilian Cerrado agricultural frontier

To address national and global demand for agro-based products, agricultural expansion has rapidly become a norm in Brazil since 1950s to date. In recent decades, agricultural expansion and technological advancement have placed the country among the top producers and exporters of agricultural products. The paradigm shifts in farming system from conventional to integrated approach has brought significant changes in land use, which consequently influenced carbon sequestration and soil organic carbon (SOC). This is more prevalent in the State of Mato Grosso, one of the most producers of food in Brazil. On this background, we hypothesized that though forests have potential for SOC stock, which decreases due to conversion to cropland but in longer-term with sustainable management, carbon might accrual significantly in cropland. Therefore, this paper aimed to unveil the nexus between long term land use and carbon stock changes and estimate future SOC stocks in Mato Grosso State of Brazil. To achieve this aim, a hybridization of machine learning and the InVEST prediction models was applied to estimate the land use changes and the SOC stocks between 1990 and 2020 and estimate for 2050. The study revealed that between 1990, 2020, and 2050, croplands increased significantly by at least 78%, pastures decreased by 32%, while forests decreased marginally by about 4% due to agricultural expansions. However, in 1990 and 2020, the SOC stock was slightly up to 147.34 Mg ha−1, it recorded an increase after a longer-time (i.e., in 2050). This increase was substantially under the forests, and marginally in the croplands. Climate-smart agricultural systems such as crop-livestock forest, integrated crop-livestock, and other conservation agricultural practices have great potential to contribute to sustainable development by increasing the levels of carbon in agricultural soils especially, after a longer period. Therefore, agricultural policies geared towards low carbon agriculture should be fully integrated into the various government decision making processes as this will guarantee food security and maximize soil carbon sequestration and stocks in the long term. Simultaneously, it is crucial to promote the dissemination of best practices for implementing and sustaining conservation efforts, thereby safeguarding the carbon stocks established to prevent their depletion. This will also support the Brazilian government in achieving its Nationally determined contributions (NDCs) through agricultural soils.

Research on the Income Guarantee of Grain Farmers from the Perspective of Food Security

Food security is an important foundation for national security, and ensuring the income of grain farmers is a key link in solving food security issues. This article explores in depth the construction and improvement of the income guarantee mechanism for grain farmers from the perspective of food security. To effectively establish a mechanism for ensuring the income of grain farmers, the following implementation paths have been proposed: firstly, stable and increased production to ensure reasonable income for grain farmers; The second is to control costs and promote technological innovation in the grain industry; The third is comprehensive development, which helps to improve the entire grain industry chain; Fourthly, optimize policies and improve the agricultural support policy system; The fifth is to expand coverage, optimize and improve the insurance sharing mechanism.

Uncertainty analysis of hydrological parameters of the APEXgraze model for grazing activities

Researchers in hydrological sciences have developed agro-hydrological models to study water quantity and quality in small-scale watersheds. These models, however, often exhibit significant uncertainty in both parameters and response variables. The study aims to address limited research on the uncertainty range of runoff-related parameters in watershed models, particularly those analyzing the impact of grazing operations. It also seeks to improve existing uncertainty analysis protocols because these protocols rely on parameter distributions, which are often difficult to determine. A generalized uncertainty analysis protocol that statistically considers multiple acceptable solutions from calibrated agro-hydrological models was developed. This approach employed a variant of the Agricultural Policy eXtender (APEX) model with an expanded grazing module called APEXgraze to perform uncertainty analysis of runoff and sediment-related parameters. Four small-scale watershed models were developed for calibration: a) native prairie, b) native prairie under grazing operations, c) cereals (winter wheat and one season of oats), and d) the same cereals under grazing operations in a semi-arid region of Oklahoma, United States. This work demonstrated that a simplified uncertainty analysis approach effectively captured the internal dynamics of hydrological processes within a statistically significant range of parameters. This observation was evidenced by a small range of water balance in both magnitude and percentage. The procedure also helped identify redundant parameters in sensitivity and uncertainty analyses. The proposed generalized uncertainty analysis protocol offers a reliable method for assessing hydrological models' internal dynamics and identifying critical parameters. This approach can enhance the accuracy of watershed models, particularly in regions with grazing operations.

Simulating Agricultural Water Recycling Using the APEX Model

Irrigation plays a vital role in many agricultural crop production regions. Drainage water recycling (DWR) is a popular irrigation water management system that collects excess water drained from cropland fields and stores it in on-site reservoirs for reuse. The efficacy of these systems varies by location, climate, irrigation frequency, and crop demands. Simulating this system would be beneficial for assessing the impact of water and land management practices on agriculture and natural resources. This study presents the development of computational algorithms for DWR simulation with the Agricultural Policy Environmental eXtender (APEX) model, along with the results for 39 testing sites where both reservoir and drainage systems are adopted. Simulating a DWR system with the revised reservoir module, the APEX model simulates irrigation water reuse ranging between 29% and 93%; sediment reduction of around 66%; nitrogen loss reduction of 23% and 73% for the mineral and organic forms, respectively; and phosphorus loss reduction of 22% and 79% for the soluble and sediment-transported forms, respectively. In conclusion, the results provided by the APEX model for sediment loss reduction align with field data, but discrepancies for nitrogen and phosphorus losses emerged from this test.

How the Soybean Producer Subsidy Policy affects crop planting structure: evidence from Chinese county-level data

PurposeThe Soybean Producer Subsidy Policy (SPSP), an agricultural support policy enacted in China within the past few years, is designed to optimise crop planting structure. This study analyses the impact of SPSP on the crop planting structure in terms of absolute and comparative incomes and elucidates the mechanisms involved.Design/methodology/approachUtilising balanced county-level panel data from 966 counties in China’s major soybean-producing regions, spanning from 2008 to 2021, we investigate the impacts of SPSP on crop planting structure by applying a difference-in-difference (DID) model.FindingsThe findings reveal several crucial insights. First, SPSP optimises the crop planting structure in Northeast China, primarily through an expansion in the area sown to soybeans and a simultaneous reduction in the area sown to maize. Second, the impacts of SPSP gradually strengthen over time but begin to weaken by 2021. Third, heterogeneity analysis indicates that the effects of SPSP are most pronounced in Eastern Inner Mongolia, followed by Heilongjiang, Jilin, and Liaoning. Finally, SPSP incentivises farmers to expand soybean sown areas by improving absolute rather than comparative incomes from soybean cultivation.Practical implicationsAddressing structural contradictions within China’s food supply chain necessitates the adjustment of support policies for different crops to mitigate market distortions. Establishing a holistic agricultural support system encompassing various crops could promote sustainable agricultural practices in the future.Originality/valueOur findings are valuable for policy makers in China and globally who aim to establish support systems for regional linkages that include a variety of crops.

Common Agricultural Policy’s (CAP) Administrative Simplification. Environmental Conditionality After The Early Review Of 2024

Resumen: Las protestas agrícolas de 2024 impulsaron la necesidad de que las Administraciones competentes modificaran de forma anticipada la condicionalidad ambiental de la Política Agraria Común (PAC) mediante una nueva revisión, de tendencia simplificadora y flexibilizadora, de un complejo régimen jurídico-administrativo como es el que regula la política agraria europea en la actualidad. A pesar de su corta vida, cabe analizar los pros y contras de esta recentísima reforma a fin de extraer una serie de conclusiones anticipadas sobre el futuro que aguarda a la PAC tras la adopción del Reglamento de simplificación. Abstract: The farmers’ protests of 2024 prompted the need for the competent administrations to modify in advance the environmental conditionality of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) by means of a new revision simplifying and making a complex legal-administrative system such as the one that currently regulates European agricultural policy more flexible. Despite its short life, it is worth analyzing the pros and cons of this very recent reform in order to draw a series of early conclusions on the future that awaits the CAP after the adoption of the simplification Regulation. Palabras clave: Política Agraria Común. Simplificación administrativa. Condicionalidad ambiental. Protestas agrícolas. Sector agrario español. Keywords: Common Agricultural Policy. Administrative simplification. Environmental conditions. Farmers’ protests. Spanish agricultural sector. Índice: 1. Introducción 2. Origen y evolución de la PAC 2.1. Primer periodo (1957–1984) 2.2. Segundo periodo (1985–2020) 3. Momento actual (2023–2027) 3.1. Antecedentes: el Pacto Verde Europeo 3.2. La reforma del año 2021 3.2.1. Características de la reforma 3.2.2. Los planes estratégicos 3.3. Las intervenciones y su condicionalidad 3.3.1. Primer pilar 3.3.2. Segundo pilar 3.3.3. La arquitectura ambiental de la PAC 4. La PAC en España 4.1. La situación del sector agrario español 4.2. Recepción de la reforma del 2021 en España 5. La simplificación de la PAC 5.1. La crisis social agraria de 2024 5.2. Simplificación administrativa y flexibilización 5.3. Solución: la revisión anticipada 5.3.1. Respuesta desde España 5.3.2. Respuesta desde la UE 5.4. Los claroscuros de la revisión 6. Conclusiones 7. Bibliografía 8. Anexos Index: 1. Introduction 2. Origin and development of the CAP 2.1. First period (1957–1984) 2.2. Second period (1985–2020) 3. Current moment (2023–2027) 3.1. Background: European Green Deal 3.2. The 2021 reform 3.2.1. Reform features 3.2.2. CAP Strategic Plans 3.3. CAP support and cross-compliance 3.3.1. First pillar 3.3.2. Second pillar 3.3.3. CAP environmental architecture 4. CAP in Spain 4.1. Situation of Spain's agricultural sector 4.2. Reception of the 2021 reform in Spain 5. CAP simplification 5.1. The agricultural social crisis of 2024 5.2. Administrative simplification and flexibilisation 5.3. Solution: early review 5.3.1. Spain’s response 5.3.2. EU’s response 5.4. Pros and cons of the review 6. Conclusions 7. Bibliography 8. Annex

Spatial benefit difference of fertilizer reduction and substitution policy based on grid scale: A case study of the Heihe River Basin

Agriculture green development faces the challenge of balancing the application of both organic and chemical fertilizers. Formulating effective policies to harmonize these applications is essential for ensuring food security and environmental sustainability. However, there is a lack of studies investigating the economic and environmental benefits of policy implementation at the grid scale, and insufficient research has been conducted on the subsequent impacts these policies have on diverse crops. Therefore, this paper develops the SIMPLE-G-Heihe model to simulate the impacts of green agricultural policies on multiple crops planting in arid regions. This model addresses limitations found in the SIMPLE-G model, which supported a single crop and lacked organic fertilizer substitution simulation. The results show that: (1) Merely increasing subsidies for organic fertilizers is insufficient to significantly enhance yields, and improving the efficiency of fertilizer utilization should also be emphasized. (2) Combining improvements in fertilizer technology with subsidies for organic fertilizers can concurrently support economic advancement and environmental mitigation. Research indicates that integrating a 3% organic fertilizer subsidy with an 8% improvement in chemical fertilizer technology increases vegetable output value by 0.27% and reduces N2O emissions by 1.09%. (3) The upstream areas of the Heihe River Basin show a significant reduction in fertilizer use. Fertilizer input is mainly reduced for vegetables in the upstream areas, while for wheat and maize, the reduction is primarily in the midstream and upstream areas. The findings discuss the spatial heterogeneity and flexibility of policy impacts, providing valuable insights for the implementation of green agriculture strategies in China.