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Competitiveness of Portuguese Montado Ewe Production Systems among the European Ewe Production Systems

Author

Listed:
  • Maria de Belém Costa Freitas

    (MED—Mediterranean Institute for Agriculture, Environment and Development, Universidade do Algarve, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Campus de Gambelas, Edf. 8, 8005-139 Faro, Portugal)

  • Maria Raquel Ventura-Lucas

    (CEFAGE—Centre For Advanced Studies in Management and Economics, Universidade de Évora, Departamento de Gestão, Largo dos Colegiais, 2, 7000 Évora, Portugal)

  • Lola Izquierdo

    (Agralys GbR, Meistersingerstr. 18, 14471 Potsdam, Germany)

  • Claus Deblitz

    (Thünen Institute of Farm Economics, Bundesallee 50, 38116 Braunschweig, Germany)

Abstract

The number of ewes in Portugal registers a decrease since 1998. This decrease is felt particularly in the south of the country, which concentrates almost half of the existing ewes, mainly for meat production. One of the most important ewe production systems is the Montado, a High Nature Value ecosystem, occupying ca. 1.2 million ha in Portugal. The competitiveness of this system among the European ewe production systems is an important issue for the future of the Montado ecosystem. So, the objective of this paper is to analyze the ewe production systems in the Montado, using the agri benchmark database, and compare these systems with other European countries’ systems, ranking their competitiveness and efficiency among other systems in the European Union. We concluded that this methodology facilitated an in-depth understanding not only of the competitiveness and efficiency of ewe production systems in Portugal but also of their positioning regarding other systems in the European Union. The pattern of returns assures that these farms are competitive in the sense that they depend on the market on their decisions, and thus it is important that market values sheep products. Nevertheless, the diversification to other income sources would be a good option for the future sustainability of these farms and the opportunities and risks that these systems will deal with in a new green economy, with probable new functions and new opportunities for land, will be a challenge for the future.

Suggested Citation

  • Maria de Belém Costa Freitas & Maria Raquel Ventura-Lucas & Lola Izquierdo & Claus Deblitz, 2020. "Competitiveness of Portuguese Montado Ewe Production Systems among the European Ewe Production Systems," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-14, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jagris:v:10:y:2020:i:5:p:184-:d:361526
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Fragoso, R. & Marques, C. & Lucas, M.R. & Martins, M.B. & Jorge, R., 2011. "The economic effects of common agricultural policy on Mediterranean montado/dehesa ecosystem," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 33(2), pages 311-327, March.
    2. Teresa Pinto-Correia & José Muñoz-Rojas & Martin Hvarregaard Thorsøe & Egon Bjørnshave Noe, 2019. "Governance Discourses Reflecting Tensions in a Multifunctional Land Use System in Decay; Tradition Versus Modernity in the Portuguese Montado," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(12), pages 1-21, June.
    3. Deblitz, Claus, 2010. "agri benchmark: Benchmarking Beef Farming Systems Worldwide," 2010 Conference (54th), February 10-12, 2010, Adelaide, Australia 59096, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society.
    4. Katranidis, Stelios D. & Kotakou, Christina A., 2008. "Are CAP Decoupling Policies Really Production Neutral?," 2008 International Congress, August 26-29, 2008, Ghent, Belgium 44184, European Association of Agricultural Economists.
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