Agricultural land use policy in the European Union: A brief history and lessons learnt

Abstract

Unforeseen consequences: the origins of the European Union’s land use policy was in setting aside agricultural land as an instrument of production control. It was not aimed at generating environmental benefits, and yet it ended up doing this as well.Carrots versus sticks: the European Union has felt (increasingly) socially empowered to use policy sticks on its farmers to deliver improved environmental goods and services from the agricultural landscape, whereas in the US and Australia policymakers have felt obliged to offer mainly carrots to farmers to do so.Environmental benefits versus foregone agricultural income: the UK is in the process