An assessment of the causes and consequences of agricultural land abandonment in Europe

Abstract

The agriculture sector is the principal source of income for around 20% of the EU-26 population, which live in predominantly rural regions that would be devastated without its contribution. Moreover, the combined agricultural and food sector forms an important part of the EU economy, accounting for 15 million jobs (8.3% of total employment) and 4.4% of GDP ((Europedia 2016). The 12 million active farmers across Europe today, have an average farm size of about 15 hectares, and are expected to meet the needs of 500 million Europeans. In addition, they are also expected to promote a sustainable and balanced development of their land, also in areas where production conditions are difficult. Yet, despite the relevance of the sector, the use of land for agriculture purposes is not very sustainable. Among other issues, there is a serious problem in respect of the abandonment of agricultural land. Based on the perceived need for research on this topic, the aim of this paper is to examine the causes and consequences of agricultural land abandonment, outlining its social, economic and environmental impacts, as well as the implications for territorial integration. 2

Status of Farmland Abandonment and Its Determinants in the Transboundary Gandaki River Basin

“…Small size households are more likely to abandon farmland since they do not have sufficient labor to farm the land in the absence of modern technology [9,10,23,26,35,36].…”

An Assessment and Spatial Modelling of Agricultural Land Abandonment in Spain (2015–2030)

“…In particular, land abandonment in European mountains and remote areas has been widely analysed [3][4][5][6][7][8] owing mainly to the depopulation of some areas ("rural exodus"), low incomes and productivity of farm activities because of new opportunities off-farm and unfavourable natural constraints. However, the land abandonment problem is widely spread beyond mountainous and marginal areas, and the situation varies from place to place due to economic, social and demographic situations, natural and environmental conditions, historical and regional context and local preferences [9,10].…”

Haritava maa mahajätmine Tartu maakonnas

“…Tuginedes eelnevale uurimustööle Filho et al (2017) seoses maade mahajätmise põhjuste ja võimalike tagajärgedega, analüüsiti järgmisi põldude omadusi iseloomustavaid näitajaid: -põllu pindala; -põllu kuju iseloomustav kompaktsuse koefitsient; -mulla keskmine boniteet; -maaparandussüsteemidega maa osatähtsus põllul; -põllu kaugus Tartu linnast kui maakonna keskusest; -põllu kaugus lähimast asulast; -põllu kaugus lähimast riigiteest; -põllu kaugus lähima naaberpõlluni; -põllu konarlikkuse indeks.…”

“…Põllumajandus areneb pidevalt, võetakse kasutusele uusi maaharimise meetodeid (nt otsekülv) ja suuremaid seadmeid. Kaasaegse tehnika kasutamine väikestel ja keerulise kujuga põldudel võib olla problemaatiline (MacDonald et al, 2000;Gellrich & Zimmermann, 2007;Cramer et al, 2008). See võib kaasa tuua põllumaa ülemineku rohumaaks, millele võib järgneda täielik mahajätmine ja võsastumine.…”