Do European agri-environment measures help reduce herbicide use? Evidence from viticulture in France

Laure Kuhfuss; Julie Subervie

doi:10.1016/j.ecolecon.2018.03.015

Do European agri-environment measures help reduce herbicide use? Evidence from viticulture in France

Laure Kuhfuss^*, Julie Subervie

^*Corresponding author for this work

School of Geography & Sustainable Development

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Agri-environmental schemes (AES) are a central component of the European environmental policy, but few of these schemes have been carefully evaluated and doubts are often expressed about their effectiveness. We use original data collected from winegrowers who participated in an AES targeting non-point source pollution from herbicides in 2011 and 2012 in the South region of France. Using the variation in the implementation of the scheme across time and space and a matching approach, we show that the quantity of herbicides used by participants in the scheme in 2011 ranges from 38 to 53% below what they would have used without the scheme and this percentage is between 42 and 50% in 2012. Further, our results suggest that least demanding AES options are effective in avoiding pollution peaks when weed pressure is high, whereas more demanding AES options guarantee an overall reduction in herbicide use, even during relatively easy farming years in which less weed pressure is experienced.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	202-211
Number of pages	10
Journal	Ecological Economics
Volume	149
Early online date	5 Apr 2018
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2018.03.015
Publication status	Published - 1 Jul 2018

Keywords

Agri-environmental scheme
Herbicides
Nonpoint source pollution
Payments for environmental services
Pesticides
Treatment effect
Water quality

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10.1016/j.ecolecon.2018.03.015

Kuhfuss_2018_EE_Herbicides_AAM
© 2018 Elsevier B.V. This work has been made available online in accordance with the publisher’s policies. This is the author created, accepted version manuscript following peer review and may differ slightly from the final published version. The final published version of this work is available at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2018.03.015
Accepted author manuscript, 281 KBLicence: CC BY-NC-ND

Cite this

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title = "Do European agri-environment measures help reduce herbicide use? Evidence from viticulture in France",

abstract = "Agri-environmental schemes (AES) are a central component of the European environmental policy, but few of these schemes have been carefully evaluated and doubts are often expressed about their effectiveness. We use original data collected from winegrowers who participated in an AES targeting non-point source pollution from herbicides in 2011 and 2012 in the South region of France. Using the variation in the implementation of the scheme across time and space and a matching approach, we show that the quantity of herbicides used by participants in the scheme in 2011 ranges from 38 to 53% below what they would have used without the scheme and this percentage is between 42 and 50% in 2012. Further, our results suggest that least demanding AES options are effective in avoiding pollution peaks when weed pressure is high, whereas more demanding AES options guarantee an overall reduction in herbicide use, even during relatively easy farming years in which less weed pressure is experienced.",

keywords = "Agri-environmental scheme, Herbicides, Nonpoint source pollution, Payments for environmental services, Pesticides, Treatment effect, Water quality",

author = "Laure Kuhfuss and Julie Subervie",

note = "Funding for this research was provided by the French Agency for Water and Aquatic Environments (1073/2012) (ONEMA) as part of the 2011 call for projects {\textquoteleft}Changer les pratiques agricoles pour preserver les services ecosystemiques' supporting the implementation of the French National Action plan Ecophyto 2018. This paper was partly funded by the Rural & Environment Science & Analytical Services Division of the Scottish Government. ",

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AU - Subervie, Julie

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N2 - Agri-environmental schemes (AES) are a central component of the European environmental policy, but few of these schemes have been carefully evaluated and doubts are often expressed about their effectiveness. We use original data collected from winegrowers who participated in an AES targeting non-point source pollution from herbicides in 2011 and 2012 in the South region of France. Using the variation in the implementation of the scheme across time and space and a matching approach, we show that the quantity of herbicides used by participants in the scheme in 2011 ranges from 38 to 53% below what they would have used without the scheme and this percentage is between 42 and 50% in 2012. Further, our results suggest that least demanding AES options are effective in avoiding pollution peaks when weed pressure is high, whereas more demanding AES options guarantee an overall reduction in herbicide use, even during relatively easy farming years in which less weed pressure is experienced.

AB - Agri-environmental schemes (AES) are a central component of the European environmental policy, but few of these schemes have been carefully evaluated and doubts are often expressed about their effectiveness. We use original data collected from winegrowers who participated in an AES targeting non-point source pollution from herbicides in 2011 and 2012 in the South region of France. Using the variation in the implementation of the scheme across time and space and a matching approach, we show that the quantity of herbicides used by participants in the scheme in 2011 ranges from 38 to 53% below what they would have used without the scheme and this percentage is between 42 and 50% in 2012. Further, our results suggest that least demanding AES options are effective in avoiding pollution peaks when weed pressure is high, whereas more demanding AES options guarantee an overall reduction in herbicide use, even during relatively easy farming years in which less weed pressure is experienced.

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KW - Herbicides

KW - Nonpoint source pollution

KW - Payments for environmental services

KW - Pesticides

KW - Treatment effect

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SN - 0921-8009

VL - 149

SP - 202

EP - 211

JO - Ecological Economics

JF - Ecological Economics

ER -

Do European agri-environment measures help reduce herbicide use? Evidence from viticulture in France

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Keywords

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