Report on European Agriculture Shows Land Shift
Called IRENA, the report looks at the region's agricultural and environmental health.
Compiled by staff
Published: Dec 23, 2005
Late Wednesday, a report on the health of agriculture in the 15 member countries of the European Union was released. The "Indicator Reporting on the Integration of Environmental Concerns into Agriculture Policy," or IRENA, is a joint exercise between several European Commission Directorates-Generals including the DG for Agriculture and Rural Development, DG Environment, Eurostat and DG Joint Research Centre. The European Environment Agency coordinated the project.
The report offers a look at 40 indicators produced based on a wide range of data sources. The report shows that utilized agricultural land area is fallen by 2.5% between 1990 and 2000, affecting mainly permanent grasslands and crops. Farm-level and regional specialization continued in the same period, while intensification leveled off.
Input use also fell even as yields rose, showing a productivity boost, and more efficient farm management. In the region, the acres devoted to organic production ballooned to 3.8% from 1.8% in 1998. And the share of ag land enrolled in agri-environmental measures - which aim at achieving environmental benefits on farmland - rose to 24% in 2002 from 20% in 1998.
In 2002, the agricultural sector contributed around 10% of total greenhouse gas emissions — mainly methane and nitrous oxide — although emissions fell by nearly 9% since 1990, mainly due to a reduction of livestock numbers, the lower use of mineral fertilizers, and changes in farm management practices. The report also underlines that agriculture helps reduce the greenhouse effect through the production of bioenergy as a substitute for fossil fuels. The emissions of ammonia also fell by 9%. Nevertheless, the agricultural sector still accounted for the largest share of ammonia emissions in the EU-15 in 2002.
For a look at the entire report visit webpubs.eea.eu.int/content/irena/index.htm online.
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Tagged: farm, organic, bioenergy
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