Adaptation to Agenda 2000 (CAP reform) and optimisation of the farming system of French suckler cattle farms in the Charolais area: a model-based study
Résumé
French suckler farmers need advice on the implications of the Agenda 2000 CAP reform for their farms and, in particular, on the incentives it offers for a more extensive mode of production. To support the dialogue between advisers and farmers, and thus help farmers with their decision-making, we constructed a linear programming (LP) model that optimises the farming system of the northern Massif Central Charolais suckler cattle farms, which may be either mixed (crop-livestock) or specialised (livestock). This model, called Opt'INRA, incorporated all of the production activities presently encountered in this zone, together with the constraints of the CAP premium attributions. We used it to study how, on the basis of their 1999 data, two farms, representing two situations frequently encountered in the Charolais area (a mixed crop-livestock farm and a specialised livestock farm), could best adapt to Agenda 2000. According to the model, for both of the farms studied, the economic impact of Agenda 2000 is relatively low, albeit negative. The adaptation of the system when possible does not lead to a significant increase in the gross margin of this farms. Agenda 2000 did not encourage farmers to extensify their farming system. On the other hand, this CAP reform discourages them from intensifying.