European Model Of Agriculture Research Articles

Strengthening AKIS for Sustainable Agricultural Features: Insights and Innovations from the European Union: A Literature Review

The Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation System (AKIS) and the Farm Advisory Service (FAS) are important elements of the current Programming Period of the Common Agricultural Policy (2023–2027), as it is now deemed necessary to transition the European agricultural model to more sustainable forms, through the dissemination of agricultural knowledge, while simultaneously promoting innovative methods. An Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation System must be able to propose and develop ideas for the transmission of agricultural knowledge, promoting innovation and the exchange of ideas. The present study includes a significant number of investigations on the effectiveness of the implementation of the AKIS and the FAS so that the conclusions are representative of the scope of the work. The object in question is now the cornerstone of the modernization of agricultural production and an important way out towards more competitive models of agriculture. The purpose of this paper is to give an extensive overview of the degree of implementation of Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation Systems in the countries of the European Union (including the United Kingdom until 2019) from 2014 until today, essentially during the implementation of the second period of Common Agricultural Policy. In the context of this article, the main results of the research carried out in the EU countries during the period under study and the proposed improvements by the researchers, where they are mentioned, are recorded epigrammatically. Finally, the countries are categorized according to the degree of implementation of the AKIS and the contribution of the Agricultural Advisory System to more sustainable forms of agricultural practices.

Floor Brouwer (ed.) Sustaining Agriculture and the Rural Environment: Governance, Policy and Multifunctionality. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar. 2004 (Reprinted 2016). Xi+360 pages. U.K. £98.10 (Hardback).

The edited book, “Sustaining Agriculture and the Rural Environment”, is largely a European contribution to the Ecological Economics. It provides a useful review of ‘multifunctionality’ as the central attribute of the European Model of Agriculture (EMA) and its applied value to other developing countries. Brouwer introduces the book (in Chapter 1) with a premise that jointly with food and fibre, the European farmers also produce ‘public goods’ such as landscapes and biodiversity management, cultural heritage, and viable rural communities. He warms up the reader to digest what follows in the book with a quick overview of the market for these positive externalities and strategies for their continuous supply in the European Union’s Common Agriculture Policy. This paves the way for rest of the book, which is organised into four parts and seventeen chapters.

Do Structures Matter in the Process of Sustainable Intensification? A Case Study of Agriculture in the European Union Countries

In this paper, we proposed a new approach to the sustainable intensification (SI) process in agriculture in the EU Member States. In contrast to previous studies, we measured SI on a sectoral level and emphasised its dynamic rather than static nature. On the basis of Eurostat data of 27 EU countries in the period of 2005–2018, we used the Malmquist–Luenberger index to evaluate improvement in environmentally and socially adjusted total factor productivity (TFP). In 42% of cases in our sample, we observed the SI process defined as TFP increase. Subsequently, we tested the impact of structural changes on the SI process. On the basis of the panel logit model, we conclude that, in the European Model of Agriculture, where basic environmental and social issues regarding agriculture are regulated, in order to become aligned with sustainable intensification, agricultural production should become concentrated in larger farms with less labour-intense production—units capable of investments in innovative, green technologies.

A short descriptive analysis of the European evolutions of input price indices of agricultural products between 2008-2017: Patterns, trends and implications

Background: The evolutions of the inputs price and investment indices of the products in agriculture are not only determinant elements in understanding the fluctuations of the food price and the market instability, specific to the agricultural sector but also affects the agricultural production and traceability. Analyzing the European evolutions of the inputs price indices of agricultural products offer the possibility to understand the main trends and tendencies in the agricultural system by reviling the main trend tenancies during a nine year period long. Purpose: The main aim of the study is to investigate the evolution of input price indices of agricultural products in order to underline the specific patterns, trends and implications of the agricultural policies. In addition, the research pays a special attention to the investigation of the Romanian agricultural policy evolution on the most relevant time frame of economic conformity with the European agricultural model. The descriptive analysis is based on the specific annual datasets of price indices of the means of inputs in agricultural production, and the index of real prices of goods and services for investments in agriculture during 2008 - 2017, reported to 2010 as the baseline year. Findings/conclusions: The analyses confirms that the agricultural sector evolution has generated significant input and investment prince changes and unprecedented trend evolutions that led to the massive changes on the agricultural pattern. We strongly advocate and recommend for promoting a solid capacity and durable agricultural production systems and policies through sustainable and long term investments in order to avoid disruptive tendencies in the agricultural market system. Limitations/future research: The research explore the evolutions of the inputs price and investments indices of the products in the European agriculture only form the descriptive analysis without covering an extensive framework or considering other additional variables which consist the main limitation of this study. In a future research the authors will address and extend the research framework by inserting additional variables and items and propose a large and integrative model of analysys.

The impact of agricultural reforms on rural families in Romania

Assessing the socio-economic and demographic impact of the reforms in Romanian agriculture, since 1990, on rural families, is one of the important components in the new context of the CAP, which includes new perspectives on the concept of rural family. From subsistence to sustainability, it implies the medium and long term objective of the main reforms in Romania's agriculture after the December 1989 Revolution, which were mainly represented by the start of the process of transition to market economy, by benefiting from the advantages of land rent and maybe the most important reform is Romania's accession to the EU. This paper aims to conduct an analysis of the evolution of the Romanian rural area in its many facets, focusing on the main reforms in post-December Romania agriculture, as well as the concepts of rural development in terms of sustainability and multifunctionality. In the context of a Romania that, since the accession of the EU, being considered perhaps the most important reform is the reform of agriculture, which is in the process of implementing the European model of agriculture and rural development. In order to demonstrate how the rural areas have been changed across the years, an empirical study has been assessed. It shows that there is a representative relationship between the farmers' productivity and incomes, proving how the economic prosperity of the rural citizens is determined by labour effectualness, while multiple reforms have been reshaped families' welfare.

A short review on European developments in agricultural output price indices during 2008-2017: Are there significant changes?

The evolution of the indices of the outputs of the production processes in agriculture could be considered proactive markers in understanding the effectiveness of the agricultural policies implementation and the functionality of the European Agricultural Model. The main aim of the research is centered on the analyzing the evolution of the European developments, in agricultural output price indices during 208-2017, from the Romanian perspective. The main findings describe the long-term changes regarding the evolution of the agricultural sector in the analyzed countries.

Zselici gyepek termésének és táplálóanyag-tartalmának vizsgálata, valamint a területek földértékelése a D-e-Meter rendszerben

The future way of grassland management is greatly influenced by the new functions of the grasslands relative to the environment. This means that the role of raising nutrition will be expand by the role of keeping the natural resources. In the EU the price of the arable lands are controlled by the supply and demand, so the quality of the arable and the value of it come asunder. The market economy has to evaluate the arable reliable and accurate. In according to these sentences it is necessary to show the real value of soil quality, of arable in the register of estate. An important part of the sustainable developing is to find the adaptation to the local area and the nature. This aspect could be found in the multifunctional European Agricultural model and in the rural development too. Nowadays we use the way of the land evaluation known as the “aranykorona”, which is an obstacle to the way of the sustainability. The evaluation of grasslands in Hungary is not solved, the details we have are disused, so it is hard to plan the yields of the grasslands, we can estimate them a posteriori. In the D-e-Meter grassland module we start the evaluation with the DM yield of the characteristic grass. This starting point is modified with the factors proper to the area. The measured and the estimated DM yield were compared to each other at 3 grassland at Bőszénfa. To evolve an up-to-date evaluating system we analysed grasslands at the University of Kaposvár Deer Farm at Bőszénfa to find answers to the followings:
 • Soil analysis of the humus, the N, P, K levels and the pH of the grasslands
 • Describe the botanical composition by the Balázs-method
 • The quality and the nutrition value of the grasslands
 • Yearly yields of grasslands
 • Analyzing of the results by the D-e-Meter system

The impact of the subsidies on efficiency of different sized farms. Case study of the Common Agricultural Policy of the European Union

The aim of the study is to determine the impact of the EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) subsidies on farm efficiency, depending on farm economic size. Although the impact of subsidies on efficiency is already relatively well recognised, earlier studies were focused on identifying this issue rather than explaining the variation in its intensity. Typically, the analysis of variation by type of production and country was conducted with microeconomic data. Our survey is based on data from the Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN) aggregated at the regional level, for farms representative for particular economic size classes. In the survey, we apply stochastic frontier analysis and "true" fixed-effects model. The results of the research confirm the hypothesis that the impact of subsidies on efficiency depends on the size of farms. Statistically significant, stimulating effect of subsidies was identified only in the group of the largest farms. Such results put into question the effectiveness of the CAP in stimulating the development of the European Model of Agriculture, and at the same time indicate that in its current form, the policy may interfere with market mechanisms and lead to the phenomenon of "rent seeking".

Zasada zrównoważonego rozwoju rolnictwa w świetle uregulowań gałęzi prawa i polityki rolnej

The aim of the deliberations presented in this paper is the principle of sustainable development of agriculture in the light of the regulatory branch of law and agricultural policy. The evolution of agricultural law encourages exploration and extraction rules, which would take account of new, specific features of a particular branch of law. Development of regulations and a paradigm shift in agricultural law allow the identification of the principles of sustainable development of agriculture. European Union regulations recognize sustainable agriculture as a modern concept of agricultural development programming which combines production goals with environmental requirements. The objective of sustainable development is the use of natural resources of nature in a way that does not disrupt the natural balance and renewal opportunities. Sustainable development of farms is achievable only if the production does not lead to the degradation of the environment, while providing the basic needs of living and social problems of farmers and their families. European agricultural model is based on maintaining a balance between productivity and environmental protection.

Correlations between Fragmentation of Farms in the Republic of Moldova and its Impact on Farm Incomes Compared to Poland and Romania

The paper presents selected problems of farm management in terms of fragmented agriculture. The problem of land fragmentation was exemplified in these three countries of Central and Eastern Europe. The main purpose of the study was to compare the effectiveness of selected indicators of agricultural production in the three selected countries. For the analysis, the data on the concentration indexes was selected from: Lorenz concentration coefficient, the Gini index, and territorial concentration coefficient (Gini C and Stuck formula). In selected countries, there are a large number of small and very small farms. They represent the majority of farms managed by private owners. To a large extent, they are called semi-subsistence farms or social farms. Some of them provide part of their products on the market. Small farms are part of the so-called European Model of Agriculture – a model that consists of small family farms. It is difficult to indicate a correct definition of “small farm”, as it may be defined differently depending on the region or country. In the EU, small farms occupy a dominant position, being a constant subject of debates and policy. The authors of the article stressed the need for strengthening the small farm position, for example by enlarging their acreage or by initiating horizontal or vertical cooperation in a way that shall not impair the role of small farms. They are important in biodiversity protection, preserving the rural landscape, as well as maintaining local tradition, culture and heritage.

An empirical investigation of the role of rural development policies in stimulating rural entrepreneurship in the Lazio Region of Italy

Purpose– The purpose of the paper is to provide an analysis of the adoption of Rural Development Policies (Rdp) as the result of entrepreneurial behaviours carried out by family farms with a focus on the Lazio Region of Italy. Family farming is the backbone of the European model of agriculture. Rdp provide family farms with a set of opportunities which, if well exploited, could drum up farm’s development.Design/methodology/approach– An empirical analysis of a data base provided by the Lazion region of Italy on the adoption of Rdp by family farms in the Lazio region for the period of 2007-2013. Cluster analysis is the main analytical tool used.Findings– The results evidence significant differences in the adoption of rural policy on the basis of family life cycle and the composition of the family farm. The empirical analysis underlines the low degree of coherence by farms located in rural areas.Practical implications– Farmers’ success in accessing funds requires them to be proactive and take a strategic perspective to convince funders that they have a coherent strategy which meets the requirements of the particular Rdp which they are trying to access.Social implications– In terms of policy, a more nuanced understanding of the entrepreneurial nature of some practices in a rural setting and how they require multi-agency investigation.Originality/value– The paper is unique, in that it considers the consumption of policy by farmers who are entrepreneurial in their vision. By consumption of Rdp, we mean the farmer’s strategic capability to obtain funds from regional funding pots for rural development.

The influences of the cultural models on agricultural production structures in Romania and some EU-28 countries: A perspective

The evolution of the Common Agricultural Policy and the changing of its paradigm was a subject of extensive consideration in the literature, but never the implications of specifc cultural aspects on agricultural performance and production structures were ever taken into consideration. The main aim of the paper is the analysis of the some aspects regarding the influences of the cultural models on agricultural production structures in Romania and some EU- 28 countries, form a larger perspective, starting with the CAP transformations over the time and the European agricultural model, analysing the role of the multifunctional agriculture in shaping the holding’s structure and performances, and in the last it is considered the role of agriculture and rural communities in promoting renewable including bio-fuels.

EUROPEAN MODEL OF AGRICULTURE IN RELATION TO GLOBAL CHALLENGES

The authors raise an extremely important, yet controversial, issue concerning the future of the European Model of Agriculture (EMA) under the circumstances of increased level of globalisation’s impact on the economy. In various respects, the EU agriculture constitutes an exceptional subsystem, which has emerged as a result of implementing the Common Agricultural Policy. The study includes an analysis of the underlying features embedded in this model, significant for its competitiveness under globalisation conditions. The analysis also covers the consequences of globalisation, such as the necessity to verify the category of marginal conditions for conducting agricultural production, and the impact of globalisation on food security. As a final conclusion, the authors suggest a number of premises indicating that globalisation, without specific political and economic measures, may result in downgrading the EMA, which may lead to its rejection or decline, hence to the marginalisation of agriculture in the EU countries.

Economic and regional consequences of direct payments under the current CAP philosophy

The paper deals with one of the key instruments of the actual EU Common Agricultural Policy (the CAP), the direct payments. The economic as well as the regional implications of application for direct payments in the CAP strategy are evaluated there. The study deals with the economic costs, direct and indirect effects of such type of subsidy in general and a demonstration thereof in the context of the development of the European model of agriculture. Based on the economic principle of this type of transfer evalution, the processes of the income redistribution in the framework of global/common policy in general is characterized. It explains the causes as well as the nature of implementation of this instrument in the reform processes in the last twenty years, focusing on the reasons and consequences of different application in the original and the new EU member states. It considers the question of whether this type of support to agriculture is truly a tool that does not interfere with market conditions affect the respective competitive ability of agricultural producers. In the context of changes to income support in agriculture in the CAP development process, the effect of decoupled payments on the pricing within the agricultural commodity markets is specified. At the same time the work deals with a broader social context and social impact of the differing forms of support in European regions.

Sustainable Rural Development Opportunities in Lithuania

Sustainable development has become the main priority of contemporary global society, and it is increasingly perceived not only in the context of environmental protection, but also as an entirety of processes in ecosystems, the society and different countries. Ecosystem stability and human well-being in an ecosystem, in the community, the society, and the country are greatly influenced by political, economic, social and cultural processes in the countryside, because rural territories make up a bigger part of the territories of contemporary countries. The article analyses Lithuanian rural development reviewing the damage done by Russian (Soviet) occupation to the Lithuanian countryside and assessing its development in the context of rural development and contemporary sustainable development in Western European countries and the world. It is concluded that the agricultural model in Lithuania as well as in all other countries that have freed themselves from the Soviet Union is based on Socialist (communist) doctrine and is an extreme contrast to the European Model of Agriculture. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.erem.66.4.5409

Simplification and Better Regulation in EU’s Agricultural Policy

There is existing evidence on the importance of good governance for economic development. Good governance is not subject to universal agreement as it involves value judgment. Six indicators based on the World Bank’s data set are, however, widely used. Among these indicatiors - voice and accountability, government effectiveness, regulatory quality, control of corruption, rule of law, and political stability - this paper focuses on Regulatory quality that is the ability of the government (EU) to formulate and implement sound policies – such as sound agricultural policy - and regulations that permit and promote private sector development and internalization of externalities. From the regulation point of view a general governance challenge for agricultural and rural development policy is the fact that agriculture is subject to a variety of market failures (environmental externalities, income disparities, structural peculiarities, research and development) and thus e.g. to the question: who is responsible for providing and paying public goods (A key aspect in the multifunctional European agricultural model). While trying to solve the high number of problems having emerged over time, the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) became more and more complex in both the 1. – market policy - and the 2. - rural development - pillar. This complexity has reached such a high level at which simplification is required so that better regulation at local, national, regional and EU level can be guaranteed. The aim of the paper is to focus on the assessment and systematization of different simplification approaches regarding the two pillars of the CAP and the comparison of interests and needs of different stakeholders. A review is made on the ways in which simplification results in better regulation. The analysis of documents and the literature helps me to describe the processes and expected results of the simplification. Besides by means of qualitative analysis future prospects and tendencies are to be foreshown.

Agricultural Sustainability from a Societal View: An Analysis of Southern Spanish Citizens

Sustainable agriculture refers to farming systems with economic, social, and environmental viability that must respond to citizens’ interests and concerns. However, European citizens are not satisfied with the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) due to misinterpretation of their preferences. Because of this, the European agricultural model’s long-term viability is being questioned, especially after the European Commission’s CAP proposals in 2011. This paper examines European agriculture’s potential sustainability with regard to citizens’ preferences. First, focus groups and the Analytic Hierarchy Process are used to identify and quantify southern Spanish citizens’ preferences for farming. Second, socio-demographic features and opinions that determine preferences towards agriculture are studied by a multinomial logit model and a cluster analysis. A comparison is made between citizens’ preferences and the CAP aims because the CAP aims address all European farming. The main results indicate that agricultural economic, environmental, and social functions are equally important to the respondents in our study, even though the CAP prioritizes the economic ones. However, some citizen groups agree with the agricultural model designed by the CAP.

Agri(eno)turismi e sviluppo rurale: una proposta metodologica per analisi settoriali-territoriali

The Italian wine sector is part of a highly competitive international framework. It requires companies to define strategies to maintain and improve their results over time. Surveys conducted Europe on farms strategies showed that diversification of assets and income is an alternative strategy to business modernization based on enlargement of scale and/or intensification of production. This is the case of agritourism enterprises that combine the production of agricultural goods with some services like catering, hospitality, recreation, education, etc. These enterprises are the most widespread form of multifunctional agriculture. Agenda 2000 has recognized the existence of a European model of agriculture based on multifunctionality and the central role of rural areas the diversification of farmers’ economic activities. Agritourism enterprises are part of rural tourism, which is an answer to the demand of enogastronomic, cultural, environmental, social goods which are specific components of local areas. The attractiveness of these areas depends on the possibility to strengthen and enhance existing relationships between the different actors of those systems (non only farms), also through public investment. The definition of rural development policies and instruments needs to measure the dimensions of multifunctionality (economic, social and environmental functions) and to decline it within specific local contexts. This study would represent a methodological contribution to analysis that combine sector and spatial elements, aimed to provide useful information to the regionalization of public expenditures. The process here implemented - choice of information sources and functional indicators, construction of datasets, use of clustering algorithm, with particular reference to the fuzzy one - provided a description of agri(eno)touristic characterization of the region Friuli Venezia Giulia (study area). The municipalities (statistical units) were grouped into five different clusters function of the number of wine companies, the number of agritourism enterprises and the services offered to their customers. Moreover, fuzzy clustering allowed to identify those municipalities that have the properties of different clusters. They were regarded as in transition, meaning that they can be moved the desired group through specific projects. From an operational point of view this information is important because enables to elaborate development programs taking into account both differences between clusters and some peculiar characteristic inside each group. Not least, the results can be a support for identifying other variables able to better describe multifunctionality, hopefully with the participation of institutions actively engaged the development of rural areas

Scaling down the European model of agriculture: the case of the Rural Environmental Protection Scheme in Ireland

Recent reforms of the Common Agricultural Policy have led to much discussion of the European multifunctional model of agriculture in both policy and academic circles. Accordingly, European agriculture provides numerous social and environmental benefits and as a result should be supported through a system of payments which directly target those benefits. The agri-environmental measures specified under pillar II of the Common Agricultural Policy are supposed to exemplify the multifunctional model of agriculture, and the macro-level debates surrounding the introduction and evolution of these measures have been the subject of much scholarly research. However, very little research has been conducted into how the actors responsible for implementing these measures at the local level react to the macro-level definitions and interpretations of agri-environmental problems and their solution. This article examines the specific case of the Rural Environmental Protection Scheme in Ireland, focusing on how this scheme is viewed by diverse actors (farmers, government officials, and environmentalists) in the environmentally sensitive area known as the Burren, how these views complement or contradict the narrative of multifunctional agriculture promoted at the EU level of governance, and how this narrative is mediated by a national agri-environmental policy community. Results suggest the need to consider how policy narratives and instruments prominent at the macro-global level of governance enter into the life-worlds, cultures, and ecologies of a variety of actors at the national and local levels of governance, and in the process are reinterpreted, resisted, and transformed.

Productivity effects of environmental performance: evidence from TFP analysis on marketing cooperatives

The object of the present article is to offer a decomposition of productivity indices incorporating environmental changes. The model followed is an input oriented approach related to undesirable output (environmental performance attribute) in horticultural marketing cooperatives. This study is motivated by both the lack of analysis of environmental performance's effects on agribusiness productivity and the relevance of cooperative firms in the European agricultural model for attaining sustainability. For this purpose, bootstrapped envelopment analysis is applied and the best practice frontier obtained corresponds to decision making units showing the best environmental behaviour. The Malmquist total factor productivity (TFP) is decomposed into technological change, efficiency and environmental change. In the second stage, the correlations of these changes with other management variables of cooperatives are analysed. The indicators obtained, on one hand, advice about the nonseparable distance function estimations when the environmental factor is introduced. On the other hand, the results display a relevant increase in efficiency and environmental components for the period under study showing a high influence from labour qualification, environmental effort and spillover effect in the sector.