Tage der Biodiversität 2027

Agricultural land use and production are not only shaped by consumer demand and market conditions but also by agricultural policy. It determines where farming takes place and whether farming remains viable in areas where natural constraints make agricultural production costly or uncompetitive. Such areas are often of high relevance for biodiversity, making the interaction between agricultural policy and ecological outcomes particularly important. Two major pathways can bring  agricultural production into closer alignment with biodiversity objectives:  increasing demand for sustainably produced food, and reforming or removing farm subsidies. Even decoupled payments, i.e., those payments not tied to a specific commodity, shape farmers’ production decisions and consequently land use outcomes, making them a relevant policy lever. Furthermore, implementing targeted agri-environmental-climate measures and other nature protection schemes are complementing options.

We assess the impacts of agricultural subsidies on aspects of biodiversity using an agricultural sector model which represents the agricultural landscape in Austria in a very detailed manner. Variables of interest are economic performance, land use, land use management intensity as well as emissions of greenhouse gases and nutrients. We compare a policy scenario without specific agricultural subsidies, i.e., less-favoured area payment, with the reference scenario, i.e., the current observed situation. The modelling results show that the removal of agricultural subsidies reduces agricultural outputs such as meat and milk, reduces the utilization of land and other valuable resources, as well as associated emissions. However, farm labour demand and farm income are negatively affected when agricultural subsidies are reduced to zero. We explore in more detail how biodiversity is likely going to be affected in such a policy scenario, discuss plausibility of results and validation options and draw conclusions on how to better adjust agricultural policies to attain sustainability objectives that go beyond personal wellbeing.