Work packages
WP1:
Pesticide Productivity,
Efficiency, and Shadow
Pricing for Stochastic
Agricultural Production
Technologies
The objectives of Working
Package 1 are: (i) A
detailed pesticides
technical overview; (ii)
an assessment of the
existing theoretical and
empirical literature on
pesticides’ effects on the
agricultural production
process; (iii) to
develop a theoretical model
of the agricultural
production process that
captures its inherently
stochastic nature and the
role that pesticide
application plays in
enhancing the production of
desirable outputs, such as
increased productivity and
efficiency, as well as the
production of potentially
environmental damaging
by-products, such as air and
water pollution; (iv)
to provide a methodological
framework for measuring
pesticide productivity and
its shadow price that
takes into account the
unique nature of farm
production; (v) to
analyze empirically the
productivity, efficiency,
and shadow prices of
pesticide applications in
the agricultural production
process. The empirical
analyses will be carried out
in two case studies, the
first one in Greece and the second one in the Netherlands.
WP2:
Analysis of the Effects
of Pesticide Use on
Operators’ Health Status and
on Their Individual
Productivity Levels
This
Work Package will
investigate the effects of
pesticide use on farm
operators’ health, as well
as productivity differences
among farmers. Extensive
pesticide use in
agricultural activities has
a two-way impact on farm
productivity. First,
pesticides act as a
damage-control input
improving plant resistance
against pests and promoting
farm production growth.
Second, the heavy use of
pesticides is extremely
harmful for farmers’ (and
any operators’) health, may
cause serious health
problems and hence decrease
their productivity levels
and the competitiveness of
their production practices.
The identification of this
trade-off between expansion
of production due to the use
of pesticides and the fall
of productivity due to the
decrease of human capital
has important policy
implications and affects
farmers’ decisions. The
question raised is how to
quantify these two effects
so that the optimal use of
pesticides is obtained. To
address these issues, a
theoretical and
methodological framework
will be developed, and
implemented in two case
studies. The countries
selected for these case
studies are the ones
selected for the case
studies under Work Package 1
(i.e., Greece and
Netherlands), so that both
Work Packages will provide a
full picture of the impact
of the use of pesticides on
farmers.
WP3:
The Costs of Achieving
Environmental Targets for
Pesticides
This
Work Package investigates
the linkage between changes
in agricultural production
and environmental damage on
surface waters using a
pesticide indicator of
environmental damage. In
addition, the Work Package
will address how costs of
adopting beneficial
management practices,
resulting in reduced
deterioration of surface
water quality, can be
calculated using
mathematical modelling.
WP4:
Indirect Pesticides
Costs on Consumers’
Willingness to Pay
The
main objective of this Work
Package is to examine the
impact of pesticides
reduction from a consumer
point of view. Consumers’
willingness to pay (WTP) for
the reduced use of
pesticides in the production
of fresh and processed foods
will be measured. In
addition, this work package
will analyse the efficient
way to disseminate the
information on pesticides
reduction to consumers
(brands, signals of quality,
different labels, etc.).
Experimental markets will be
carried out in Portugal and France.
WP5:
Economic Sustainability,
Biodiversity Loss and
Socially Optimal Pesticide
Use
The
objectives of this Work
Package are: (i) An
assessment of the existing
theoretical and empirical
literature on modelling
economic sustainability,
valuing biodiversity, and
defining pesticides tax
policy in the context of
economic growth and
externalities; (ii)
To
evaluate the impacts of the
tax and levy scheme on
farm-level decision making
to gauge the
micro-foundations of the
alternative macro-level
solutions.(iii) To
implement an empirical
investigation of pesticide
tax and levy schemes to
assess the impacts on
agriculture and the
environment.
WP6:
Agricultural Support
Policies and Optimum Tax and
Levy Scheme on Pesticide Use
in Farm Production
The
objectives of the proposed
research in the context of
this Work Package are: (i)
To design a realistic and
effective tax and levy
scheme that reduces the use
of pesticides to a socially
optimal level from the point
of view of a policy maker,
who takes into account the
negative effects of
pesticide use on consumers,
farmers, and the environment
and the positive effects of
pesticide control inputs to
the agricultural production.
(ii) To study the
effects of different
agricultural support systems
(e.g. price supports, single
payments and area payments)
on pesticide use. (iii)
To conduct an empirical
investigation of the policy
effects on pesticide use
that will help the research
team in testing and
evaluating the theoretical
results.
WP7:
Socio-Economic Factors
Influencing Willingness to
Adopt Low Pesticide Input
System Among Arable and
Horticultural Producers
The
aim of this Work Package is
to assess the feasibility
and potential benefits of
producers adopting such
low-pesticide input systems
through evaluating a range
of socio-economic factors
affecting producers’
willingness to adopt low
pesticide input production
methods in arable production
and in horticulture and
permanent crops. The
specific objectives are:
(i) To
develop an interdisciplinary
framework identifying
economic and social factors
that influence the adoption
of organic farming and other
low pesticide input systems
among the sectors that most
likely use pesticides
(various horticulture,
permanent crops and arable
production as defined by
Farm Accountancy Data
Network (FADN) methodology).
(ii) To assess the
relative profitability of
organic and reduced
pesticide system management
compared to traditional
methods and the impact of
shifting to a different, low
pesticide input production
function for different farm
types (various horticulture,
permanent crops and arable
production as defined by
Farm Accountancy Data
Network (FADN) methodology).
(iii) To develop a
range of different scenario
models for varying levels of
relative profitability for
low pesticide input
production. These models
will be tested to different
farm types (as above).
(iv) To identify
the producers’ response to
profitability scenarios
through discussion groups
with producers of different
types in the
UK, Bulgaria and the Netherlands.
WP8:
Implementing policy
recommendations for reducing
the indirect cost of
pesticides use
In
this Work Package, the
policy tools and
recommendations from the
previous Working Packages
are summarized and the
results are synthesized
under a broader perspective
so as to generate a solid
policy framework that
includes agricultural policy
measures, consumer
protection measures as well
as environmental policy
measures. Deliverables in
this package are primarily
intended for policy makers.
Therefore, deliverables will
be concise and integrated in
a manner that enables
easy-and-ready-to-use by
policy makers. In this sense
emphasis will be placed not
on the technical details but
rather on the usefulness of
the methodology and the
interpretation of the
results within a
policy-implication point of
view.
WP9:
Demonstration and
Dissemination of the Results
The
principal objective of this
Work Package is the in-depth
analysis and dissemination
of the main results obtained
from the proposed empirical
research. Particular
emphasis will be placed on
the dissemination of the
results to the
widest-possible audience,
focusing on EU officials and
policy-makers, other agents
involved in agricultural and
environmental
decision-making and
academics.
WP10: Project
Management and Assessment
The
objective of this Work
Package is to set and apply
the appropriate procedures
to periodically monitor the
activities of the
participants the whole
project, so that the
financial and timetable
constraints are met, the
contractual obligations are
fulfilled and the expected
results are delivered on
time. It also provides the
partners with guidelines for
the management of unexpected
events, and monitors whether
ethical and gender issues
arise.