Suchergebnisse

81 108 6 11 ; SWORD ; [EN] This work has as main objective the development of a methodological approach for multicriteria planning of agricultural land in rain-forest protected areas. For this purpose two main techniques have been used: the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and the Compromise Programming (CP), both employed in order to include into the analysis objectives from a triple point of view: economics, social and environmental. The methodological approach proposed has been implemented in a Venezuelan protected area, where agricultural activities have been historically the main source of income for its population. The results point out the existence of important conflicts between the objectives considered, showing the convenience of public intervention in order to promote a performance of agricultural sector according to the compromise solutions obtained. Flores, J.; Gómez-Limón, JA. (2006). Multi-criteria planning of agricultural activities in rain-forest protected areas. The case of the Guanare-Masparro (Venezuela). Economía Agraria y Recursos Naturales - Agricultural and Resource Economics. 6(11):81-108. doi:10.7201/earn.2006.11.04 ; [ES] La presente investigación tiene como objetivo principal el desarrollo de una propuesta metodológica de planificación multicriterio con el fin de optimizar el uso de la tierra con fines agrarios en áreas protegidas tropicales. Para ello se han empleado las técnicas del Proceso Analítico Jerárquico (AHP) y la programación compromiso (PC), considerado objetivos de carácter económico, ambiental y social. La aplicación empírica desarrollada se ha centrado en un área protegida de Venezuela con tradicional vocación agraria. Los resultados de la planificación evidencia la existencia de importantes conflictos entre los objetivos planteados, así como la necesidad de la intervención pública para lograr un desempeño del sector agrario en concordancia con las soluciones compromiso calculadas.

AbstractSocial capital is the whole set of shared norms, values, attitudes, and beliefs that promote cooperation among individuals within the community and that has proved to be a key factor in explaining development processes. This article aims to provide an analytically reliable notion of social capital within the farming sector and a methodological tool for empirically measuring how social capital is accumulated at the farmer level. The theoretical framework proposed is based on the multidimensionality of the complex concept of social capital. Thus, to develop a comprehensive index for social capital, we identify three dimensions of the concept, structural, relational, and cognitive social capital, each one also comprising several subdimensions. This integrative approach permits creation of a composite indicator of the agricultural social capital accumulated at the farmer level, further identifying socioeconomic factors that influence its accumulation at that level. We empirically apply this methodological approach to farmers in Andalusia in southern Spain as a case study. This research provides an interesting starting point for informing policymakers about social capital and helping them implement the necessary programs to facilitate sustainable development in the agricultural sector.

Agricultural multifunctionality is the recognition of the joint exercise of economic, environmental and social functions by this sector. In order to make this concept operative for the design of public policies, it is necessary to estimate the social demand for such functions. The main objective of this article is to present an empirical application in this line. For this purpose we have taken the agricultural system of mountain olive groves in Andalusia (Southern Spain) at risk of abandonment after the decoupling of the EU subsidies as a case study. The economic valuation technique used is the Choice Experiment. According to the results, there is a different contribution of each attribute to the improvement of the Society level of utility. Thus, and taking into account its WTP for each attribute, keeping rural population in their villages and fighting soil erosion seem to be the most valued functions by Andalusian citizens. It follows the improvement of the visual quality of the rural landscapes and the reduction of food residuals. Finally, although the results suggest a significant demand for the different functions, this demand is heterogeneous, depending on the socio-economic characteristics of the individuals. ; El concepto de multifuncionalidad agraria supone el reconocimiento de la provisión conjunta de bienes y servicios de tipo económico, social y medioambiental. Con el objeto de hacer operativo este concepto para el diseño de políticas públicas es necesario estimar la demanda social de estas funciones. En este contexto, el presente trabajo supone una aplicación empírica de esta idea teniendo como caso de estudio el olivar andaluz de montaña. La valoración económica de las funciones no comerciales más relevantes de este sistema agrario se ha llevado a cabo utilizando los experimentos de elección. Según los resultados obtenidos, existe una contribución al bienestar social de cada uno de los atributos analizados, siendo el mantenimiento de la población en el medio rural y la lucha contra la erosión los dos atributos mejor valorados, seguidos por la provisión de un paisaje de calidad y la seguridad alimentaria. Por último, estos mismos resultados evidencian igualmente cómo esta valoración es heterogénea, dependiendo de las características socioeconómicas de los individuos.

Paper accepted to be published in Land Use Policy (ISSN: 0264-8377) ; Agri-environmental schemes (AES) play a key role in promoting the production of environmental public goods by European Union agriculture. Although extensive literature has analyzed AES, some important issues remain understudied. This paper performs an ex-ante assessment of AES in permanent cropping, analyzing several issues that have received little attention from researchers, such as ecological focus areas (EFA) and collective participation. For this purpose, a choice experiment was used to assess farmers' preferences toward AES in a case study of olive groves in southern Spain. Results show high heterogeneity among farmers, with different classes being identified, from potential participants to non-participants. As regards EFA, almost half of the farmers would be willing to accept it for low monetary incentives (€8-9/ha per additional 1% of the farmland devoted to EFA) while the rest would do it for moderate-to-high monetary incentives (€41-151/ha per additional 1% of EFA). However, for a high share of EFA (e.g., 5-7%) higher incentives would presumably be required due to the intrinsic spatial restrictions of olive groves. With regard to collective participation, we find that it is unlikely that farmers would participate collectively with the incentive of the up-to-30% EU-wide bonus. These results are relevant for policy-making now when new AES are being designed for the next programming period 2014-2020. ; This research is co-financed by the Spanish Ministry of Economics and Competitiveness (MINECO) and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through the project MERCAGUA (AGL2013-48080-C2-1-R).

[EN] This paper aims to contribute further research on the conceptualization of agricultural multifunctionality through quantitative methods. The empirical analysis is based on a large dataset (Agrobarometre of Andalusia) consisting of self-reported measures of individual opinions on multifunctionality. Ordered probit models are proposed to analyze the extent to which individuals' perceptions of multifunctionality can be explained not only by individual and regional characteristics, but more importantly, by the preferences individuals have for a given type of agriculture. Results indicate that individuals are aware of the multi-dimensional nature of agriculture as a provider of private and public goods and services, although a big fraction of the population still focuses its demand on private goods production. It is not surprising that individuals' perceptions about the multifunctionality concept are site-specific, depending on the surrounding farming systems. Given their stated preference for a type of agricultural multifunctionality, the proposed quantitative method highlights those attributes of the concept which do not fully satisfy individuals' expectations. Overall, this manuscript provides a useful empirical tool for policy-makers concerned with improving satisfaction on the perception of multifunctionality in the agricultural sector. ; [ES] El objetivo del presente trabajo es contribuir a la investigación sobre el concepto de multifuncionalidad de la agricultura, a partir de técnicas cuantitativas. Esto es posible gracias a una gran encuesta de opinión (Agrobarómetro de Andalucía) que contiene datos relativos a la opinión individual sobre la multifuncionalidad agraria. A partir de la estimación de modelos probit ordenados se puede analizar en qué medida la percepción individual de la multifuncionalidad agraria puede explicarse, no sólo a partir de características individuales y regionales, sino también a partir de las preferencias individuales por un tipo de agricultura dado. De los resultados obtenidos se destaca cómo los individuos son conscientes del carácter multi-dimensional de la agricultura como proveedor de bienes y servicios públicos y privados, si bien existe una demanda generalizada, por parte de la población andaluza, de producción de bienes privados. No resulta sorprendente observar cómo las percepciones individuales sobre el concepto de multifuncionalidad son específicas del lugar de residencia del individuo y del sistema agrario existente. Una vez indicadas las preferencias individuales por un tipo de multifuncionalidad dado, los métodos cuantitativos propuestos subrayan aquellos atributos del concepto que no satisfacen plenamente las expectativas individuales. Estos resultados deberían ser tenidos en cuenta en el debate actual sobre el diseño de la política agraria, al objeto de que su aplicación permita cubrir, en la medida de lo posible, las demandas insatisfechas de la ciudadanía. Palabras clave adicionales: actitudes y percepciones, diferencias regionales, modelo probit ordenado, política agraria. ; The authors wish to thank the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries of the Andalusian Regional Government for funding the project to undertake the 2003 Survey on Individuals' Opinion on Rurality and Agriculture in Andalusia (Agrobarometre 2003). Funding from the Ministry of Education through the MULTIAGRO project (AGL2003-07446-C03-01) is also acknowledged. Financial support provided for this research to E. Vera-Toscano through Averroes (Junta de Andalucía) is gratefully acknowledged. Comments from two anonymous referees are further acknowledged. All usual caveats apply. ; Peer reviewed