Agric. Econ. - Czech, 2023, 69(3):89-100 | DOI: 10.17221/387/2022-AGRICECON

Assessment of the impact of agricultural support on crop diversityOriginal Paper

Zdeňka Žáková Kroupová1, Lukáš Čechura1, Matěj Opatrný2,3, Zuzana Hloušková4, Iveta Mlezivová4
1 Faculty of Economics and Management, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Czech Republic
2 Institute of Economic Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
3 The Environment Centre, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
4 Liaison Agency FADN CZ, Institute of Agricultural Economics and Information, Prague, Czech Republic

This study examines the impact of agricultural support on crop diversity measured by a diversity index. Our results indicate that agricultural subsidies have a limited effect on agricultural biodiversity. By using unique farm-level data, we show that subsidies support the income of farmers rather than the agricultural biodiversity. The results are robust regarding the size, practice management and altitude of the agricultural holdings' operations and various measures of agricultural biodiversity. However, when interpreting the results, the limitations of biodiversity indices should be considered.

Keywords: biodiversity index; Czech Republic; panel data regression; subsidies

Accepted: March 22, 2023; Published: March 30, 2023  Show citation

ACS AIP APA ASA Harvard Chicago Chicago Notes IEEE ISO690 MLA NLM Turabian Vancouver
Žáková Kroupová Z, Čechura L, Opatrný M, Hloušková Z, Mlezivová I. Assessment of the impact of agricultural support on crop diversity. Agric. Econ. - Czech. 2023;69(3):89-100. doi: 10.17221/387/2022-AGRICECON.
Download citation

Supplementary files:

Download file387-2022-AGRICECON_ESM.pdf

File size: 601.47 kB

References

  1. Alons G. (2017): Environmental policy integration in the EU's common agricultural policy: Greening or greenwashing? Journal of European Public Policy, 24: 1604-1622. Go to original source...
  2. Asrat S., Yesuf M., Carlsson F., Wale E. (2010): Farmers' preferences for crop variety traits: Lessons for on-farm conservation and technology adoption. Ecological Economics, 69: 2394-2401. Go to original source...
  3. Batáry P., Dicks L.V., Kleijn D., Sutherland W.J. (2015): The role of agri-environment schemes in conservation and environmental management. Conservation Biology, 29: 1006-1016. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
  4. Baumgärtner S., Quaas M.F. (2010): Managing increasing environmental risks through agrobiodiversity and agrienvironmental policies. Agricultural Economics, 41: 483-496. Go to original source...
  5. Beillouin D., Ben-Ari T., Malezieux, E., Seufert V., Makowski D. (2021): Positive but variable effects of crop diversification on biodiversity and ecosystem services. Global Change Biology, 27: 4697-4710. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
  6. Benin S., Smale M., Pender J., Gebremedhin B., Ehui S. (2004): The economic determinants of cereal crop diversity on farms in the Ethiopian highlands. Agricultural Economics, 31: 197-208. Go to original source...
  7. Bennett A.F., Radford J.Q., Haslem A. (2006): Properties of land mosaics: Implications for nature conservation in agricultural environments. Biological Conservation, 133: 250-264. Go to original source...
  8. Brady M., Kellermann K., Sahrbacher C., Jelinek L. (2009): Impact of Decoupled Agricultural Support on Farm Structure, Biodiversity and Landscape Mosaic: Some EU Results. Journal of Agricultural Economics, 60: 563-585. Go to original source...
  9. Brunetti I., Tidball M., Couvet D. (2019): Relationship between biodiversity and agricultural production. Natural Resource Modeling, 32: e12204. Go to original source...
  10. Capitani F., Gatto E., Millemaci E. (2016): CAP payments and spatial diversity in cereals crops: An analysis of Italian farms. Land Use Policy, 54: 574-582. Go to original source...
  11. Climate Resilience of Agricultural Systems (2020): Biodiversity maps. Climate change Resilience of Agricultural System. Available at https://www.agriculture-resilience.eu/biodiversity-maps/ (accessed Dec 15, 2022).
  12. Czech Office for Surveying, Mapping and Cadastre (2022): Summary reports on the land from the Cadastre of the Czech Republic (Souhrnné přehledy o půdním fondu z údajů katastru nemovitostí České republiky). [Dataset]. Prague: Czech Office for Surveying, Mapping and Cadastre. Available at https://www.cuzk.cz/Periodika-a-publikace/Statisticke-udaje/Souhrne-prehledy-pudniho-fondu.aspx (accessed Nov 15, 2022) (in Czech).
  13. Czech Statistical Office (2020): Integrated Farm Survey - Regions - 2020 (Integrované šetření v zemědělství - regiony - 2020). Available at https://www.czso.cz/csu/czso/integrovane-setreni-v-zemedelstvi-regiony-2020> (accessed Dec 14, 2022) (in Czech).
  14. Czech Statistical Office (2022a): Tab.09.01 Selected agricultural indicators (1989-2022). (Vybrané ukazatele zemědělství 1989-2022). [Dataset]. Available at https://www.czso.cz/documents/10180/171348125/32018122_0901.pdf/bf6d8315-6e78-4c8d-adef-ffbcc12f7774?version=1.1> (accessed Nov 20, 2022) (in Czech).
  15. Czech Statistical Office (2022b): ZEM02D/7 Trends in the utilised agricultural area as at 31 May (Vývoj obhospodařované zemědělské půdy k 31. 5.). [Dataset]. Available at https://vdb.czso.cz/vdbvo2/faces/cs/index.jsf?page=vystup-objekt&z=T&f=TABULKA&skupId=2301&katalog=30840&pvo=ZEM02D&&str=v240&kodjaz=203> (accessed Dec 13, 2022) (in Czech).
  16. Czech Statistical Office (2022c): Tab.7 Economic accounts for agriculture (270148-22). [Dataset]. Available at https://www.czso.cz/documents/10180/177339006/270148-22_pd.xlsx/673bd87c-1114-4da6-aaab-f6181e2afd10?version=1.1> (accessed Nov 21, 2022) (in Czech).
  17. Daly A.J., Baetens J.M., De Baets B. (2018): Ecological diversity: Measuring the unmeasurable. Mathematics, 6: 119. Go to original source...
  18. Di Falco S., Perrings C. (2005): Crop biodiversity, risk management and the implications of agricultural assistance. Ecological Economics, 55: 459-466. Go to original source...
  19. Di Falco S., Chavas J.P. (2006): Crop genetic diversity, farm productivity, and environmental risk management in rain-fed agriculture. European Review of Agricultural Economics, 33: 289-314. Go to original source...
  20. Donald P.F., Green R.E., Heath M.F. (2001): Agricultural intensification and the collapse of Europe's farmland bird populations. Proceedings: Biological Sciences, 268: 25-29. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
  21. European Commission (2020): Evaluation of the impact of the CAP on habitats, landscapes, biodiversity. Luxembourg, Publications Office of the European Union. Available at https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/6d9e0724-4d8a-11ea-aece-01aa75ed71a1/language-en (accessed Oct 20, 2022).
  22. European Commission (2021): EU biodiversity strategy for 2030: Bringing nature back into our lives. Luxembourg, Publications Office of the European Union. Available at https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/31e4609f-b91e-11eb-8aca-01aa75ed71a1 (accessed Oct 20, 2022).
  23. European Commission (2022): Definitions of variables used in FADN standard results. Brussels, Directorate-general for Agriculture and Rural Development. Available at https://agridata.ec.europa.eu/extensions/FarmEconomyFocus/FADNDatabase.html (accessed Oct 20, 2022).
  24. Eurostat (2022): Common farmland bird index [env_bio2]. [Dataset]. Available at https://appsso.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/nui/show.do?dataset=env_bio2⟨=en> (accessed Oct 20, 2022).
  25. Eurostat (2023): Euro/ECU exchange rates - annual data [ERT_BIL_EUR_A]. [Dataset]. Available at https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/ERT_BIL_EUR_A__custom_4780707/default/table?lang=en> (accessed Feb 1, 2023).
  26. FAO (1999): Agricultural Biodiversity. In: The Multifunctional Character of Agriculture and Land. Maastricht, Netherlands, Sept 12-17, 1999.
  27. Foley J., Ramankutty N., Brauman K., Zaks D.P.M. (2011): Solutions for a cultivated planet. Nature, 478: 337-342. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
  28. Gocht A., Ciaian P., Bielza M., Terres J.-M., Röder N., Himics M., Salputra G. (2017): EU-wide economic and environmental impacts of cap greening with high spatial and farm-type detail. Journal of Agricultural Economics, 68: 651-681. Go to original source...
  29. Greene W.H. (2008): Econometric Analysis. 6th Ed. New York, Pearson Prentice Hall: 209.
  30. Hristov J., Clough Y., Sahlin U., Smith H.G., Stjernman M., Olsson O., Sahrbacher A., Brady M.V. (2020): Impacts of the EU's common agricultural policy 'Greening' reform on agricultural development, biodiversity, and ecosystem services. Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, 42: 716-738. Go to original source...
  31. Institute of Agricultural Economics and Information (2019): Economic results of agricultural holdings in the FADN CZ network for 2019 (Hospodářské výsledky zemědělských podniků v síti FADN CZ za rok 2019). Prague, ÚZEI: Kontaktní pracoviště FADN CZ, Institute of Agricultural Economics and Information: 1-200. (in Czech)
  32. Janovska V., Simova P., Vlasak J., Sklenicka P. (2017): Factors affecting farm size on the European level and the national level of the Czech Republic. Agricultural Economics - Czech, 63: 1-12. Go to original source...
  33. Josefsson J., Berg Å., Hiron M., Pärt T., Eggers S. (2017): Sensitivity of the farmland bird community to crop diversification in Sweden: Does the CAP fit? Journal of Applied Ecology, 54: 518-526. Go to original source...
  34. Mahy L., Dupeux B., Van Huylenbroeck G., Buysse J. (2015): Simulating farm level response to crop diversification policy. Land Use Policy, 45: 36-42. Go to original source...
  35. Matthews A. (2013): Greening agricultural payments in the EU's common agricultural policy. Bio-Based Applied Economics Journal, 2: 1-27.
  36. Ministry of Agriculture (2003): Agriculture 2002 (Zemědělství 2002). Available at https://eagri.cz/public/web/file/17475/Zemedelstvi2002.pdf (accessed Aug 10, 2022).
  37. Ministry of Agriculture (2022): Agriculture 2021 (Zemědělství 2021). Available at https://eagri.cz/public/web/file/704653/Zemedelstvi_2021_web.pdf (accessed Aug 10, 2022).
  38. Ministry of Environment (2016): National Biodiversity Strategy of the Czech Republic 2016-2025. Available at https://www.mzp.cz/web/edice.nsf/4A46CA81084E521FC1258050002DAE0C/$file/NBS_CR_2016-2025.pdf (accessed Sept 10, 2022).
  39. Mofya-Mukuka R., Hichaambwa M. (2018): Livelihood effects of crop diversification: A panel data analysis of rural farm households in Zambia. Food Security, 10: 1449-1462. Go to original source...
  40. Morris E.K., Caruso T., Buscot F., Fischer M., Hancock C., Maier T.S., Rillig M.C. (2014): Choosing and using diversity indices: insights for ecological applications from the German Biodiversity Exploratories. Ecology and Evolution, 4: 3514-3524. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
  41. Mundlak Y. (1978): On the pooling of time series and cross section data. Econometrica, 46: 69-85. Go to original source...
  42. Nagendra H. (2002): Opposite trends in response for the Shannon and Simpson indices of landscape diversity. Applied Geography, 22: 175-186. Go to original source...
  43. Nastis S.A., Michailidis A., Mattas K. (2013): Crop biodiversity repercussions of subsidized organic farming. Land Use Policy, 32: 23-26. Go to original source...
  44. Ofori-Bah A., Asafu-Adjaye J. (2011): Scope economies and technical efficiency of cocoa agroforesty systems in Ghana. Ecological Economics, 70: 1508-1518. Go to original source...
  45. Overmars K.P., Helming J., van Zeijts H., Jansson T., Terluin I. (2013): A modelling approach for the assessment of the effects of Common Agricultural Policy measures on farmland biodiversity in the EU27. Journal of Environmental Management, 126: 132-141. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
  46. Pe'er G., Zinngrebe Y., Hauck J., Schindler S., Dittrich A., Zingg S., Tscharntke T., Oppermann R., Sutcliffe L.M., Sirami C., Schmidt J., Hoyer C., Schleyer C., Lakner S. (2017): Adding some green to the greening: Improving the EU's ecological focus areas for biodiversity and farmers. Conservation Letters, 10: 517-530. Go to original source...
  47. Pe'er G., Finn J.A., Díaz M., Birkenstock M., Lakner S., Röder N., Kazakova Y., Šumrada T., Bezák P., Concepción E.D., Dänhardt J., Morales M.B., Rac I., Špulerová J., Schindler S., Stavrinides M., Targetti S., Viaggi D., Vogiatzakis I.N., Guyomard H. (2022): How can the European Common Agricultural Policy help halt biodiversity loss? Recommendations by over 300 experts. Conservation Letters, 15: e12901. Go to original source...
  48. Peet R.K. (1974): The measurement of species diversity. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics, 5: 285-307. Go to original source...
  49. Poláková J., Tucker G., Hart K., Dwyer J., Rayment M. (2011): Addressing biodiversity and habitat preservation through Measures applied under the Common Agricultural Policy. Final report. London, Institute for European Environmental Policy: 313.
  50. Redlich S., Martin E.A., Wende B., Steffan-Dewenter I. (2018): Landscape heterogeneity rather than crop diversity mediates bird diversity in agricultural landscapes. PLoS One, 13: e0200438. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
  51. Sipiläinen T., Huhtala A. (2013): Opportunity costs of providing crop diversity in organic and conventional farming: would targeted environmental policies make economic sense? European Review of Agricultural Economics, 40: 441-462. Go to original source...
  52. Smale M., Meng E., Brennan J.P., Hu R. (2003): Determinants of spatial diversity in modern wheat: Examples from Australia and China. Agricultural Economics, 28: 13-26. Go to original source...
  53. Stoate C., Báldi A., Beja P., Boatman N.D., Herzon I., van Doorn A., de Snoo G.R., Rakosy L., Ramwell C. (2009): Ecological impacts of early 21st century agricultural change in Europe - A review. Journal of Environmental Management, 91: 22-46. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
  54. Swain N. (1999): Agricultural restitution and co-operative transformation in the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia. Europe-Asia Studies, 51: 1199-1219. Go to original source...
  55. Šálek M., Kalinová K., Daňková R., Grill S., Żmihorski M. (2021): Reduced diversity of farmland birds in homogenized agricultural landscape: a cross-border comparison over the former Iron Curtain. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 321: 107628. Go to original source...
  56. Tilman D., Clark M., Williams D., Kimmel K., Polasky S., Packer C. (2017): Future threats to biodiversity and pathways to their prevention. Nature, 546: 73-81. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
  57. Tyllianakis E., Martin-Ortega J. (2021): Agri-environmental schemes for biodiversity and environmental protection: How we are not yet 'hitting the right keys'. Land Use Policy, 109: 105620. Go to original source...
  58. United Nations (1992): Convention on Biological Diversity. Available at https://www.cbd.int/doc/legal/cbd-en.pdf> (accessed Aug 28, 2022).
  59. Walker L.K., Morris A.J., Cristinacce A., Dadam D., Grice P.V., Peach W.J. (2018): Effects of a higher-tier agri-environment scheme on the abundance of priority farmland birds. Animal Conservation, 21: 183-192. Go to original source...
  60. Weibull A.C., Östman Ö., Granqvist A. (2003): Species richness in agroecosystems: The effect of landscape, habitat and farm management. Biodiversity and Conservation, 12: 1335-1355. Go to original source...
  61. Wretenberg J., Lindström A., Svensson S., Pärt T. (2007): Linking agricultural policies to population trends of Swedish farmland birds in different agricultural regions. Journal of Applied Ecology, 44: 933-941. Go to original source...

This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY NC 4.0), which permits non-comercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original publication is properly cited. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.