Demand for non-commodity outputs from extensive agricultural systems
New Medit, vol 7, n. 1, (March 2008), pp. 4-12
Language: EN
Jel classification: Q180, Q110
Agricultural Multifunctionality is the recognition of the joint exercise of economic, environmental and social functions by this sector. In order to make this concept operative to support the design of public policies, it is necessary to estimate the social demand for such functions. The main objective of this article is to present two empirical applications in this line. For this purpose, we have adopted the agricultural system of mountain olive groves in Andalusia (Southern Spain), at risk of abandonment after the decoupling of the EU subsidies, and the agricultural system of cereal steppes in Tierra de Campos (North-western Spain). The economic valuation technique used is the Choice Experiment. According to the results, each attribute included in the concept of Multifunctionality gives a different contribution to the improvement of the utility at social level. Thus, and taking into account its willingness to pay (WTP) for each attribute, the obtained results suggest the existence of a significant heterogeneous demand for the different functions depending on the socio-economic characteristics of the individuals surveyed.
agricultural multifunctionality, economic valuation, choice experiments, extensive agriculture, cereal steppes, olive groves, Spain
