Understanding the Relationships between Extensive Livestock Systems, Land-Cover Changes, and CAP Support in Less-Favored Mediterranean Areas

Marta Debolini (1) , Jean Christophe Paoli (2) , Claude Napoleone (3) , Michel Moulery (4) , Lara Leonelli (4) , Pierre Santucci (2) , Laurence Delattre (5)

1 EMMAH - Environnement Méditerranéen et Modélisation des Agro-Hydrosystèmes
2 UMR SELMET - Systèmes d'élevage méditerranéens et tropicaux
3 ECODEVELOPPEMENT - Ecodéveloppement
4 SPE - Sciences pour l'environnement
5 LEM - Lille économie management - UMR 9221

Farm abandonment and over-extensification trends in less-favored livestock breeding areas in the Mediterranean have led to socio-environmental issues that are difficult to assess and address, due to the characteristics of these areas (e.g., poor data availability and reliability). In a study case that presents many of the characteristics common to these areas, we combine qualitative and quantitative approaches to assess (i) the relationship between livestock production and land-cover change and (ii) the drivers of farmer decisions, concerning the types of livestock they breed. We show that the Common Agricultural Policy's objective of open-landscape preservation cannot be achieved through the observed livestock management practices, with the most heavily CAP subsidy-dependent activities (e.g., suckler-cow breeding) having one of the weakest contributions to this objective. We also econometrically show that suckler-cow breeding is more likely to be adopted as a complementary or main activity in farms facing a labor scarcity and land abundance context. These results complement the literature and contribute to the discussion regarding the design of CAP support for less-favored Mediterranean areas.

Mots clés: Mediterranean mountainous landscape; farmer choice drivers; extensive livestock systems; Common Agricultural Policy; land-use change; less favored areas (LFA)

Domaines: Sciences de l'Homme et Société; Economies et finances; Sciences de l'environnement

Marta Debolini, Jean Christophe Paoli, Claude Napoleone, Michel Moulery, Lara Leonelli, et al.. Understanding the Relationships between Extensive Livestock Systems, Land-Cover Changes, and CAP Support in Less-Favored Mediterranean Areas. Land, 2020, 9 (12), ⟨10.3390/land9120518⟩. ⟨hal-03064829⟩