The problem

Agri-environmental schemes (AES) are designed and implemented to reflect agricultural and environmental diversity – and institutional differences – across Europe. However, they need to address growing criticism of their environmental effectiveness by formulating appropriate objectives, improved scheme design and better monitoring. To gain a clearer understanding of how AES work, a number of issues surrounding them need revisiting: the behaviour of farmers, institutional arrangements and the environmental ramifications of the schemes.

Overview:

ITAES seeks to enhance the available AES toolbox. The project will:

• Examine how institutional and contractual arrangements influence farmers’ uptake of AES by comparing several case studies
• Model and analyse how farmers react to different types of schemes
• Integrate all the available information into a common framework.

To create this, two instruments will be developed:

• An integrated tool to analyse the interaction between institutional processes and environmental outcomes
• A tool to analyse and simulate farmers’ interaction with AES

Contribution to policy development:

• National design and implementation of AES in the context of rural development policy may benefit from the results of this project
• Although the project is being developed at regional level, it may have a wider influence on European policy-making as regards, for instance, the formulation of payment methods to farmers
• Project outcomes may also lead to future research in areas such as ecological taxation, evaluation of AES and cross-compliance

Project deliverables

• Methodologies for assessing environmental impacts, analysing private transaction costs, and farmers’ preferences and behaviours – October 2004
• Database and country reports based on a survey of farmers – July 2005
• Report on simulation results – January 2006
• ITAES protocol and recommendations based on project results – January 2007

Dissemination

• Progress and results in scientific publications – Ongoing
• Update ITAES website – Ongoing
• Summary report for stakeholders and policy-makers – July 2006
• Two workshops: one for EU rural development officials (2005) and another for international organisations (2006)

Technical information

Project acronym: ITAES
Project’s official full title: Integrated tools to design and implement agri-environmental schemes
Research priority: 1.2. Tools and assessment methods for sustainable agriculture and forestry management
Specific webpage: http://merlin.lusignan.inra.fr/ITAES/website
Proposal/contract no: 502070
Start date: 01/01/04
Kick off meeting: 05/02/04
Completion date: 31/12/06
European Commission scientific officer: Lucas Janssen (Lucas.Janssen@ec.europa.eu)

Coordinator:
Name: Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique
Abbreviated Name: INRA-ESR
Address: 4 Allee Adolphe Bobierre, CS 61103, 35011 Rennes
Country: France
Tel: +33 2 23 48 53 01
Fax: +33 2 23 48 53 00
Website: www.inra.fr

Partners

Name: Wageningen University
Abbreviated Name: WU
Country: The Netherlands

Name: Ghent University
Abbreviated Name: UGENT
Country: Belgium

Name: University of Newcastle upon Tyne
Abbreviated Name: UNEW
Country: United Kingdom

Name: Humboldt University Berlin
Abbreviated Name: HUB
Country: Germany

Name: Centre for Environmental Accounting and Management in Agriculture and Forestry, Padua University
Abbreviated Name: UNIPADU-CONTAGRAF
Country: Italy

Name: Irish Agriculture and Food Development Authority
Abbreviated Name: TEAGASC
Country: Ireland

Name: MTT Agri-food Research
Abbreviated Name: MTT
Country: Finland

Name: VUZE-Research Institute for Agricultural Economics
Abbreviated Name: VUZE
Country: Czech Republic