The future of olive groves on sloping land and ex-ante assessment of cross compliance for erosion control

Under the past Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) olive oil subsidy regime, farmers were eligible for subsidies on the basis of the amount of olive oil they produced. This led to an intensification of production, particularly on flat land, and had in most cases negative environmental effects, such as more soil erosion on sloping land and more pollution. With the decoupling of agricultural support under the newly established rules of the CAP, formalised in 2005, cross compliance measures have become obligatory.In this paper an ex-ante assessment is made of the application of cross compliance for soil erosion control (natural cover crops and terrace maintenance) in hilly and mountainous olive groves in Trás-os-Montes in Portugal. A linear programming model was developed to assess the various socio-economic and environmental effects of four different development scenarios for olive groves. The scenarios were developed on the basis of changing market prices, wage rates and subsidies; their effects included shifts towards intensification, abandonment and organic farming. Simulations considering a minimum return to labour constraint showed very high levels of abandonment, particularly in combination with cross compliance obligations. However, even without this minimum return to labour constraint, abandonment would reach more than 20% in three out of the four scenarios. The model showed that cross compliance obligations could be quite effective in reducing erosion, but that they would depress income in all scenarios as a result of higher abandonment and lower percentage shifts towards intensive systems.     

Analysis of the spatial relationship between small olive farms to increase their competitiveness through cooperation

Small olive farms typically find it hard to compete with their larger competitors due to unfavourable conditions in terms of labour costs, land fragmentation and structural capital. These conditions result in higher production costs that reduce their competitiveness, leading to progressive exclusion from domestic and international markets and the abandonment of farming. In this scenario, cooperation between farmers to increase farm size and reduce land fragmentation may be an innovative strategy to improve the competitiveness of small agricultural holdings and avoid farm abandonment. The aim of this paper is to characterize the spatial structure of the traditional olive grove in the province of Jaén (South of Spain), the world’s leading olive oil producer, to identify the areas where farmer cooperation can be effectively implemented. The results of this study confirm that there are large numbers of small, barely viable olive groves and show different ways to promote cooperation between farmers according to the structural characteristics of their farms and their spatial relationships. In particular, when small olive farms have large neighbours, assisted cooperation systems should be implemented, while when small olive farms are concentrated in areas without larger farms, shared cultivation systems would be more efficient. This paper also provides information for the design of public policies aimed at enhancing the competitiveness of small agricultural holdings.     

Drivers of cropland abandonment in mountainous areas: A household decision model on farming scale in Southwest China

Cropland abandonment has emerged as a prevalent phenomenon in the mountainous areas of China. While there is a general understanding that this new trend is driven by the rising opportunity cost of rural labor, rigorous theoretical and empirical analyses are largely absent. This paper first develops a theoretical model to investigate household decisions on farming scale when off-farm labor market is accessible and there is heterogeneity of farmland productivity and distribution. The model is capable of explaining the hidden reasons of cropland abandonment in sloping and agriculturally less-favored locations. The model also unveils the impacts of heterogeneity of household labor on fallow decisions and the efficiency loss due to an imperfect labor market. The model is empirically tested by applying the Probit and Logit estimators to a unique household and land-plot survey dataset which contains 5258 plots of 599 rural households in Chongqing, a provincial level municipality, in Southwest China. The survey shows that more than 30% of the sample plots have been abandoned, mainly since 1992. The econometric results are consistent with our theoretical expectations. This work would help policy-makers and stakeholders to identify areas with a high probability of land abandonment and farming practice which is less sustainable in the mountainous areas.     

Eco-efficiency assessment of olive farms in Andalusia

Olive farming represents an important source of income and employment in the rural areas of Andalusia (Spain), which is the most important olive oil-producing region in the world. Unfortunately, it also exerts significant environmental pressures with regard to soil erosion, use of polluting inputs, excessive water consumption and biodiversity reduction. This paper uses Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) techniques and pressure distance functions to contribute a farm-level assessment of the eco-efficiency of a sample of 292 Andalusian olive farmers. We distinguish between managerial eco-efficiency and program eco-efficiency, the latter being associated to the different natural conditions prevailing in the three main olive cultivation systems in the region, namely, traditional rain-fed mountain groves, traditional rain-fed plain groves and irrigated intensive groves. Our findings show that eco-inefficient management is a widespread practice across olive farmers, mainly due to widespread technical inefficiency. Furthermore, the most eco-efficient production system is the traditional plain growing system. Finally, we find that soil-climate conditions strongly influence managerial eco-efficiency in all three aforementioned cultivation systems.     

Sustainability and multifunctionality of protected designations of origin of olive oil in Spain

Agrarian systems provide sociocultural and environmental externalities, which contribute to the sustainability of rural areas. The aim of this article is to analyse the sustainability of some Spanish olive oil Protected Designations of Origin (PDO) through multicriteria techniques (Analytical Network Process), taking into consideration different farming systems. The analysis has been made through ten criteria grouped in three clusters: economic, environmental and socio-cultural and asked experts. This was done first to rank the criteria and second in terms of what type of farming system achieves these criteria better. According to the results, there is a high level of consensus regarding the criteria ranking and the way that farming systems contribute to agrarian multifunctionality and sustainable development, despite the different characteristics of PDOs. In all cases, organic farming is the best, followed by integrated farming, when achieving economic, environmental and socio-cultural criteria, except for Estepa (where integrated farming is preferred for the economic and socio-cultural criteria). Conventional farming is placed in third position when achieving all functions, except for the environmental criteria, for which abandonment is preferred to conventional farming in all PDOs. Multifunctionality and sustainability are maximized by a combination of farming systems: about 40% organic, 35% integrated, 20% conventional and 5% crop abandonment.The results of our model regarding the combination of farming systems are similar to the actual situation in the PDOs studied, and, more important, this has been achieved thanks to the PDO institutions. Good local institutions contribute to improve the sustainability of rural areas by encouraging innovation and entrepreneurship (especially in PDOs, triggered by Origin Designation Regulator Councils) and a European level, by paying farmers for externalities.     

Driving forces behind vineyard abandonment in Slovakia following the move to a market-oriented economy

The abandonment of farmland has become a widespread phenomenon in post-socialist countries that have seen revolutionary changes in their economic systems. The phenomenon is notable in vineyard areas, where abandonment leads to the loss of the unique character of vineyard landscapes. This paper assesses the extent of vineyard abandonment in Slovakia and analyses the driving forces behind it. We used statistical and Corine Land Cover data to map the change in vineyard areas in Slovakia and analyse the pressure of underlying driving forces. Special attention was paid to small-scale, traditionally managed vineyards that were not changed by agricultural collectivisation and are now considered to be traditional agricultural landscape structures. These areas were mapped using Google Earth aerial photography combined with field research. A case study of the Svätý Jur area provided a detailed analysis of the changes, driving forces and perceptions of local residents. This area is representative of a historical vineyard area that has been deeply affected by the country's political and economic transformations. We found that over the past 20 years almost half the vineyard area in Slovakia has been abandoned or converted to arable land. The import of cheap grape must and wines, increased production costs and insufficient agricultural subsidies have made viticulture unprofitable. Local farmers perceive financial instruments and an inadequate market as limiting factors for farming, together with weak support from local government and the expansion of unsuitable housing. While 65% of local people said they would engage in viticulture if it was more profitable, 31% showed no interest in farming at all. Abandonment of the vineyards is continuous process resulted from the economical and cultural changes after the transition to market-oriented economy. Government support should be directly aimed to protection and management of traditional small scale vineyards and their historical, cultural, biodiversity, and aesthetical values.     

Analysing how drivers of agricultural land abandonment affect biodiversity and cultural landscapes using case studies from Scandinavia,Iberia and Oceania

Agricultural land abandonment (ALA) is widespread in many countries of the global north. It impacts rural communities, traditional landscapes, biodiversity and ecosystem services. It is an opportunity for ecosystem restoration or new landscape functions. We explored ALA in study areas in Australia, Portugal and Sweden. In each, we assessed plant species diversity, historical trajectories of land cover change; and the socioeconomic past, present and future in interviews with farmers. The ALA data was integrated and analysed by identifying the drivers of change. The relative importance of each driver and its scale of action was estimated, both in the past (1950–2010) and in the future (2010–2030). ALA has transformed rural landscapes in the study areas of Portugal and Sweden. It is at a much earlier stage with potential to increase in the Australian case. We identified a set of driving forces, classified into pressures, frictions and attractors that clarify why ALA, noting its temporal and spatial scale, occurs differently in each study area. The effect of the drivers is related to social and historical contexts. Pressures and attractors encouraging agricultural abandonment are strongest in Portugal and Sweden. Generally more (institutionalized) frictions are in place in these European sites, intended to prevent further change, based on the benefits assumed for biodiversity and aesthetics. In Australia, the stimulation of driving forces to promote a well-managed abandonment of some cleared areas could be highly beneficial for biodiversity, minimally disruptive for current dairy farming operations and would bring opportunities for alternative types of rural development.     

Study on the abandonment of sloping farmland in Fengjie County,Three Gorges Reservoir Area,a mountainous area in China

The farmland abandonment phenomenon in mountainous areas is a recent change in relationships between man and land that emerged in China's land-use transition. Revealing spatial distribution characteristics and influence factors of sloping farmland (SF) and abandoned farmland (AF) in mountainous areas is conducive to rational allocation and optimization on local land resources. This paper investigated regional distribution features of SF and AF in the hinterland of the Three Gorges Reservoir Area (TGRA) using high-resolution remote sensing images, ArcGIS spatial analysis, and statistical methods. The results found that the spatial distribution of SF and AF has an approximate characteristic under different topography, location, or accessibility backgrounds. However, within different spatial coupling relationships between SF and AF, influencing mechanisms of farmland abandonment are significantly different. The diversity of geographical locations reflecting natural and social contexts is an essential reason for this differentiation. Moreover, dominant influencing factors of farmland abandonment in the study area are natural factors such as slope and farmland quality. Socioeconomic factors, including distance to road, peasant income, and labor force proportion, guide the distribution and trend of farmland abandonment to varying degrees. Finally, four modes of farmland abandonment in TGRA have proposed and suggested that the corresponding plans for SF consolidation should be proposed based on fine classification, which is of great significance for farmland utilization and rural revitalization in underdeveloped mountainous areas.     

Analyzing the behavioural mechanism of farmland abandonment in the hilly mountainous areas in China from the perspective of farming household diversity

Revealing the mechanism under the occurrence of farmland abandonment from the perspective of farming household diversity is conducive to proposing well-directed farmland protection policies. With a thorough consideration and study of cases in some hilly mountainous areas in China, this paper uses behaviour decision models of farming households to systematically understand and analyse the behavioural mechanism leading to farmland abandonment by different types of farming households, including aged households, stable part-time households, unstable part-time households and pure households. The mechanism is empirically analysed with a logistic regression model by household survey data collected from Jiangxi and Guizhou, 2 Chinese provinces, and the results observed as follows: (1) age is a key determinant of farmland abandonment of aged households, and as the age of farm labourers increases by one year, the probability of farmland abandonment increases by 8.5 %; (2) off-farm labourers is a key determinant of farmland abandonment of stable part-time households, and for each additional number of off-farm labourers, the abandonment probability increases by 41.4 %; (3) plot features such as land quality, irrigation and distance to home, are the main determinants affecting farmland abandonment of pure households; and (4) high possibility for unstable part-time households not to abandon farmland. A series of policy measures targeted for diverse farming households are therefore finally proposed to alleviate the farmland abandonment in hilly mountainous areas and other areas with similar problems.     

Labor migration and the decoupling of the crop-livestock system in a rural mountainous area: Evidence from Chongqing,China

Massive out-migration of rural labor force brings both challenges and opportunities to crop-livestock integrated production system (crop-livestock system) in smallholder economy. Compared with previous researches that have paid major attention to the effect of labor migration on either crop production or livestock husbandry, this study considers the mediating role of crop production in predicting the effect of labor migration on livestock raising. Our econometric estimation based on a 2012 survey of 974 rural households in Chongqing, a mountainous region of China, showed the following. (1) The massive migration of rural labor force had led to significant increase in farmland abandonment and considerable changes in the pattern of livestock raising. (2) The livestock raising number per household began to differentiate, with the livestock system separating from the traditional crop-livestock system and becoming a specialized business. (3) In terms of the pathways through which rural labor migration exerts impact on livestock raising number, though the increased opportunity costs of rural labor greatly reduced farmers’ willingness to raise livestock, the decoupling of the crop-livestock system partly alleviated the declining trend in the livestock raising number because of the availability of household labor force freed from cropping via farmland abandonment. These findings have important policy implications for rural development and agricultural restructuring in mountainous areas of China, and provide references for other developing countries.     

Financial consequences of cross-compliance and flat-rate-per-ha subsidies: The case of olive farmers on sloping land

Under the past Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) olive oil subsidy regime, farmers were eligible for subsidies on the basis of amount of olive oil produced. This led to an intensification of production and negative environmental effects on sloping land, such as loss of biodiversity and more soil erosion. In 2004 the olive and olive oil regime changed, with integration of support to olive farmers in the Single Payment Scheme (SPS). From 2006 to 2013 farmers receive a constant amount of subsidies, based on the average amount they received in the 4-year reference period 1999–2002.     

Farmers’ views on the future of olive farming in Andalusia,Spain

Andalusia, located in southern Spain, is the major olive production area worldwide. Due to the relevance of this agricultural sector on the regional income, this article investigates olive farmer's perspectives regarding olive production after their retirement and potential factors affecting these including economic, social, environmental and spatial factors. We use data from a survey conducted to 431 olive farmers in Andalusia in 2010. Our findings show spatial dependence in explaining farmer's views on the future of olive farming at relatively small distances. In addition other factors such as bad economic performance, erosion or olive diseases affect farmer's perception. We make propositions on what elements should be taking into account when designing agricultural policies aiming at guaranteeing the sustainability of olive farming in future.     

Agricultural sustainability of fadama farming systems in northern Nigeria: the case of Karshi and Baddeggi

Nigeria is endowed with underground and surface water reserves, rich pastures and favourable agroecological conditions in the country's low-lying plains with alluvial deposits, popularly referred to as fadama lands. The 3,000,000ha of fertile soils with residual moisture offer attractive opportunities for the arable farmers to grow both season and off-season high-value crops. The potential and importance of fadama agriculture for food production and economic development is crucial, given rising food prices, climatic changes, environmental risks associated with ‘modern’ agriculture, modelled farming systems and population growth. Fadama areas are therefore of critical importance to the survival and economic development of millions of rural dwellers. This research surveys and analyses the sustainability of fadama farming systems in semi-arid northern Nigeria. Findings reveal a delicate interaction and negotiation across the formal and informal boundaries where traditional agricultural practices, based on an understanding of the particular physical reality and exploitation of natural synergies, are combined with inputs typical of conventional agriculture. African agriculture thus stands poised at a crossroads: whether to abandon tradition in favour of entirely ‘modern’ methods and export markets as often advocated in certain circles or to depend on time-tested indigenous knowledge systems and grassroots-defined development vision which combines popular livelihoods with respect for nature's systems.     

Economics of erosion-control and seed-fertilizer technologies for hillside farming in Honduras

With population growth still at very high rates and large-scale commercial farmers and cattle ranchers owning much of the more fertile valley land, small-scale farmers are concentrated on increasingly marginal, steeply sloping hillsides in Central America. The continuing soil erosion and land degradation in these low-input staple crop production hillside farming systems lead many to be pessimistic about increasing the agricultural incomes of these farmers. However, this study shows that the appropriate combination of improved technologies and agricultural policy or alternative production diversification strategies can improve the incomes of small-scale hillside farmers in southern Honduras by over 50%. The technology components considered are stone walls and ditches combined with living tree barriers to prevent erosion of the hillsides, and a package of improved sorghum seed, seed treatment, and modest doses of nitrogenous fertilizer. A whole-farm mathematical programming framework is used to determine the potential farm-level income effects of the soil-conservation and seed-fertilizer technologies. The main conclusion is that erosion-control devices and yield-increasing crop varieties and fertilizer are an effective technology introduction strategy for the erosion-prone hillside landholdings found in many areas of Central America. If policy actions or diversification strategies for disposal of surplus grain are found which are effective in reducing the risk of low income from cereal price reductions in high-production years, adoption of the improved technologies is shown to be profitable for small-scale farmers. Another benefit not explicitly considered would be to slow the very rapid growth of urban poverty in these countries. Sensitivity analysis results indicated that neither risk aversion nor the increased availability of crop land or initial cash have any substantial effects on the predicted adoption level of the improved technologies, or on their income impacts for these farmers.     

不同代际视角下农户耕地撂荒行为研究——基于江西省兴国县293份农户问卷调查

研究目的：基于江西省兴国县农户调研数据,分析农户代际差异对山区农村耕地撂荒的影响。研究方法：Logit和Tobit模型。研究结果：（1）调查地区有46.1%的农户撂荒耕地,且代际差异每提升一级,耕地撂荒意愿会增加9%;（2）耕地经营规模、耕地块数和土地流转是决定新生代农户耕地是否撂荒及撂荒规模的关键因素,而受教育程度、非农收入占比、土地流转、村内撂荒程度和耕地分散程度对中生代农户耕地撂荒意愿作用最大;（3）老一代农户耕地撂荒规模所受影响因素最多,且性别和土地流转对老一代农户耕地撂荒规模的减缓作用最大。研究结论：在推动耕地要素自由流动和农田基础设施建设的同时,应当考虑不同代际农户所处的生命周期阶段及其自身禀赋差距对耕地撂荒的影响。     

Perennial grain crops in the West Soudanian Savanna of Mali: perspectives from agroecology and gendered spaces

Perennial grain crops may play an important role in environmentally sound and socially just food systems for Africa. We study the future possibility of integrating perennial grains into Malian farming systems from the perspective of agroecology, and more specifically using a gendered space approach. We interviewed 72 farmers across the sorghum-growing region of Mali. We found that perennial grains offer a vision for transforming human relations with nature that mirrors the resource sharing of customary land tenure, including patterns of extensive and intensive land use in time and space. Women interviewees identified a broad set of potential advantages and challenges to perennial grain production. Advantages include reduced labour, saving seed, and improving food security. Women farmers were concerned about livestock, water access, and resource limitations. We argue that perennial grains may increase access to land and natural resources for women farmers. Perennial grains may improve soil quality, reduce labour early in the rainy season, and provision more resources from fallow lands. Pastoralists stand to benefit from improved pastures in the dry season. We conclude that investments are needed to develop viable crop types in consideration of the complexity of West African farming systems and the local needs of women farmers and pastoralists.     

Analysing the provision of agricultural public goods: The case of irrigated olive groves in Southern Spain

Analysis of the joint production of private and public goods (PGs) by farming activities is a fertile research field. These joint production processes are typically characterised by a high level of complexity derived from the intense relationship between the production of both kinds of outputs. An integrated approach is strongly recommended for the study of the provision of agricultural PGs and the design of public intervention in this sector. Here, we propose a theoretical framework to apply an integrated approach using the analytic network process (ANP) to analyse the production of PGs by agricultural systems to support public decision-making concerning the design and implementation of agricultural policies. We introduce a novel approach in applying ANP along both directions of the influences among elements, allowing us to identify the most influenced PGs and the farmers’ most influential decisions. This methodological approach is empirically applied to a particular farming system: the irrigated olive groves (IOG) of Southern Spain. Results show that the PGs most influenced by olive growers’ decisions are soil fertility, the visual quality of agricultural landscapes and farmland biodiversity. In addition, the most influential factors affecting the provision of PGs are the structural ones, namely farm size and tree density, and, to a lesser extent, management factors dealing with fertilisation, soil and irrigation management. These results are useful for supporting agricultural policy decision-making to enhance adequate management of this farming system regarding PGs production.     

Reasons for adoption of sustainable land management practices in a changing context: A mixed approach in Thailand

A farmer’s decision to adopt sustainable land management practices often takes place in a changing context. In the Northeast Region of Thailand, rural areas face a deagrarianization process and the dominant farming system – small-scale rice farming under rainfed conditions – is losing its role as the main provider of household income. The study applies a mixed approach to investigate the reasons why farmers adopt sustainable land management practices in this region. This approach involved a quantitative assessment of factors that influence adoption and a qualitative analysis of local actors’ opinions regarding these reasons. Two major reasons were identified: the engagement in diversifying production and the willingness to reduce the amount of time household members spend farming. These two reasons relate to two strategies farmers use to adapt to ongoing changes: getting involved in changing the farm or maintaining it while limiting the effort they spend running the farm. Initiatives to enhance the uptake of sustainable land management practices in the Northeast Region of Thailand would benefit from structuring the support provided taking these two strategies into account.     

Sustainability of fish pond culture in rural farming systems of Central and Western Cameroon

In Sub-Saharan Africa, fish ponds are often an integral part of farming systems but have suffered from a lack of viability and sustainability. The present study aims to understand the strategies used by fish farmers to overcome economic and environmental constraints. In 2008 and 2009, fish farmers were surveyed in Central and Western Cameroon, and the fish production systems were classified by cluster analysis. Four broad types were identified according to the complexity of household operations. The development of extensive systems (large-scale and low-input) in rural areas of central Cameroon is induced mainly by abundant available land. For semi-intensive systems in both regions (small-scale and high-input in the Western Region, large-scale and high-input in peri-urban areas of the Central Region), horizontal integration is not sufficient to make fish production profitable and sustainable. More intensive fish farms tend towards vertical integration, in which farmers establish close links with input suppliers. Main causes of low productivity of semi-intensive systems (1–2?t/ha/yr) are both lack of knowledge of fish farming principles by farmers and lack of technical improvement by extension agents and researchers which need to consider the local complexity of farming systems to develop and intensify fish production. The adaptation of development strategies to socio-economic and environmental contexts is a necessity to hope for an increase in fish pond aquaculture production in Africa.     

Forests to fields. Restoring tropical lands to agriculture

In discussing land use in tropical forest regions, there is an emphasis on the following topics: the need for the expansion of cropping areas, the precedent for use of the tropical forest for cropping based on past use patterns, the pressure from conservationists against cropping, debunking the mythology that forests are "natural" and refuting the claims that forest clearance is not reversible, the archeological evidence of past forest use for agricultural purposes, abandonment of tropical land to forest, and rotation of forest and field. The assumption is that the way to stop food importation is to increase crop production in the tropics. Crop production can be increased through 1) land intensification or clearing new land, 2) output per unit of land increases, or 3) reallocation to agriculture land previously cleared and overgrown with tropical forest. "Temporary" reuse of land, which reverted back to tropical forest, is recommended. This reuse would ease population pressure, and benefit bioconservation, while populations stabilize and further progress is made in international plant breeding. The land would eventually be returned to a forest state. Conservation of tropical forest areas should be accomplished, after an assessment has been made of its former uses. Primary forests need to identified and conversion to farming ceased. Research needs to be directed to understanding the process of past forest regeneration, and to devising cropping systems with longterm viability. The green revolution is unsuitable for traditional cropping systems, is contrary to demands of international funding agencies for sustainability, and is not affordable by most poor farmers. Only .48 million sq. km of closed forest loss was in tropical rainforests; 6.53 million sq. km was lost from temperate forests cleared for intensive small-scale peasant farming. The use of tropical forest land for farming has some benefits; crops in the wetter tropics are perennial, which would "reduce seasonal soil tillage, increase nutrient cycling, and remove a lower proportion of biomass." Water availability would not be a problem. Low soil nutrient levels could be increased with cutting and burning or fertilizer. The key is proper and careful management, particularly under intensive cropping systems such as rice production or extensive long fallow shifting cultivation.