IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v12y2020i14p5851-d387354.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Trends in Agricultural Land in EU Countries of the Baltic Sea Region from the Perspective of Resilience and Food Security

Author

Listed:
  • Pontus Ambros

    (Natural Resources and Sustainable Development, Department of Earth Sciences, Uppsala University, 75236 Uppsala, Sweden)

  • Madeleine Granvik

    (Natural Resources and Sustainable Development, Department of Earth Sciences, Uppsala University, 75236 Uppsala, Sweden)

Abstract

Agricultural land is crucial for the production of food and is, thereby, directly connected to food security. Agriculture is threatened by a multitude of hazards, such as climate change, peak oil, peak soil and peak phosphorus. These hazards call for a more resilient food system that can deliver food security for the global population in the future. In this paper, we analyse the Baltic Sea region’s ten European Union (EU) member states, investigating which trends are to be found in statistics between 2005 to 2016 on the development of agricultural land. In our paper, we analyse these trends of agricultural land by looking at three categories of data: (1) utilised agricultural area, (2) number of farms and (3) agricultural labour input. The results showed a trend that agricultural land is increasingly dominated by large farms, whilst over 1 million predominantly small farms have disappeared, and agricultural-labour input has dropped by more than 26%. These trends point towards a mechanisation of production, where larger and less labour-intensive farms take over production. This could partly be due to the EU common agricultural policy, which tends to favour large farms over small. Further, we argue for the importance of farm-size diversity, and about the dangers to food security that a system that is dominated by large farms possesses. Lastly, we conclude that the concept of resilience needs to be better included in policy development and food-system planning, and that more research needs to be done, analysing how existing agricultural policies impact the parameters studied in this paper.

Suggested Citation

  • Pontus Ambros & Madeleine Granvik, 2020. "Trends in Agricultural Land in EU Countries of the Baltic Sea Region from the Perspective of Resilience and Food Security," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(14), pages 1-25, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:14:p:5851-:d:387354
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/14/5851/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/14/5851/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Isaac Gershon Kodwo Ansah & Cornelis Gardebroek & Rico Ihle, 2019. "Resilience and household food security: a review of concepts, methodological approaches and empirical evidence," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 11(6), pages 1187-1203, December.
    2. Food and Agriculture Organization, 2015. "The State of Food Insecurity in the World Meeting the 2015 International Hunger Targets: Taking Stock of Uneven Progress," Working Papers id:7595, eSocialSciences.
    3. Madeleine Granvik & Torun Jacobsson & Lisa Blix-Germundsson & Anders Larsson, 2015. "The approach of Swedish municipalities to the preservation of agricultural land in a planning context," International Journal of Agricultural Resources, Governance and Ecology, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 11(2), pages 190-204.
    4. Stephen K. Wegren, 2020. "Can Russia’s food exports reach $45 billion in 2024?," Post-Communist Economies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 32(2), pages 147-175, February.
    5. Madeleine Granvik, 2012. "The Localization of Food Systems — An Emerging Issue for Swedish Municipal Authorities," International Planning Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 17(2), pages 113-124.
    6. Madeleine Granvik & Sofie Joosse & Alan Hunt & Ingela Hallberg, 2017. "Confusion and Misunderstanding—Interpretations and Definitions of Local Food," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(11), pages 1-13, October.
    7. Miguel A. Altieri & Clara Ines Nicholls, 2020. "Agroecology and the emergence of a post COVID-19 agriculture," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 37(3), pages 525-526, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Xi Zhou & Mao Liu & Anjiao Ouyang, 2023. "Which Scale Is Appropriate for the Sustainable Management of Paddy Field?—A Case Study of Jiaxing, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(9), pages 1-16, April.
    2. Oana Coca & Diana Creangă & Ștefan Viziteu & Ioan Sebastian Brumă & Gavril Ștefan, 2023. "Analysis of the Determinants of Agriculture Performance at the European Union Level," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-23, March.
    3. Bonoua Faye & Guoming Du, 2021. "Agricultural Land Transition in the “Groundnut Basin” of Senegal: 2009 to 2018," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-17, September.
    4. Kowalczyk, Cezary & Źróbek-Różańska, Alina & Źróbek, Sabina & Kryszk, Hubert, 2021. "How does government legal intervention affect the process of transformation of state-owned agricultural land? The research methods and their practical application," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 111(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Ricardo Serra Borsatto & Vanilde Ferreira Souza-Esquerdo & Henrique Carmona Duval & Fernando Silveira Franco & Fabio Grigoletto, 2022. "Winning hearts and minds through a policy promoting the agroecological paradigm in universities," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 39(1), pages 5-18, March.
    2. Blake-Rath, Robyn & Grote, Ulrike, 2022. "Resilienz und Digitalisierung in der deutschen Agrarwirtschaft: Lehren aus der COVID-19-Pandemie," 62nd Annual Conference, Stuttgart, Germany, September 7-9, 2022 329610, German Association of Agricultural Economists (GEWISOLA).
    3. Čermák, Michal & Ligocká, Marie, 2022. "Could Exist a Causality Between the Most Traded Commodities and Futures Commodity Prices in the Agricultural Market?," AGRIS on-line Papers in Economics and Informatics, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Faculty of Economics and Management, vol. 14(4), December.
    4. Baldini, Carolina & Marasas, Mariana Edith & Tittonell, Pablo & Drozd, Andrea Alejandra, 2022. "Urban, periurban and horticultural landscapes – Conflict and sustainable planning in La Plata district, Argentina," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 117(C).
    5. Charles Peter Mgeni & Klaus Müller & Stefan Sieber, 2018. "Sunflower Value Chain Enhancements for the Rural Economy in Tanzania: A Village Computable General Equilibrium-CGE Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(1), pages 1-22, December.
    6. Dalal Aassouli & Ayodele Akande & Ray Jureidini, 2023. "Comparative Analysis of Sustainable Food Governance and the Alignment of Food Security Policies to Sustainable Development: A Case Study of OIC Countries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(22), pages 1-27, November.
    7. Nathan Sunday & Rehema Kahunde & Blessing Atwine & Adesoji Adelaja & Justin George, 2023. "How specific resilience pillars mitigate the impact of drought on food security: Evidence from Uganda," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 15(1), pages 111-131, February.
    8. Andi Syah Putra & Guangji Tong & Didit Okta Pribadi, 2020. "Spatial Analysis of Socio-Economic Driving Factors of Food Expenditure Variation between Provinces in Indonesia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-18, February.
    9. Greg Husak & Kathryn Grace, 2016. "In search of a global model of cultivation: using remote sensing to examine the characteristics and constraints of agricultural production in the developing world," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 8(1), pages 167-177, February.
    10. Daniel Kangogo & Domenico Dentoni & Jos Bijman, 2020. "Determinants of Farm Resilience to Climate Change: The Role of Farmer Entrepreneurship and Value Chain Collaborations," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-15, January.
    11. Jolejole-Foreman, Maria Christina & Olofin, Ibironke & Fawzi, Wafaie & Fink, Gunther, 2016. "Associations between Food Scarcity during Pregnancy and Children’s Survival and Linear Growth in Zambia," 2016 Annual Meeting, July 31-August 2, Boston, Massachusetts 235111, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    12. Kaaria, Susan & Osorio, Martha & Wagner, Sophie & Gallina, Ambra, 2016. "Rural women’s participation in producer organizations: An analysis of the barriers that women face and strategies to foster equitable and effective participation," Journal of Gender, Agriculture and Food Security (Agri-Gender), Africa Centre for Gender, Social Research and Impact Assessment, vol. 1(2).
    13. Dafni Despoina Avgoustaki & George Xydis, 2020. "Indoor Vertical Farming in the Urban Nexus Context: Business Growth and Resource Savings," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-18, March.
    14. Egamberdiev, Bekhzod, 2024. "Social capital effects on resilience to food insecurity: Evidence from Kyrgyzstan," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 36(1), pages 435-450.
    15. Upton, Joanna & Constenla-Villoslada, Susana & Barrett, Christopher B., 2022. "Caveat utilitor: A comparative assessment of resilience measurement approaches," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).
    16. Manh Hung Do, 2023. "Saving up and diversifying income for a rainy day: Implications for households' resilience strategies and poverty," TVSEP Working Papers wp-033, Leibniz Universitaet Hannover, Institute for Environmental Economics and World Trade, Project TVSEP.
    17. Hemant G. Tripathi & Harriet E. Smith & Steven M. Sait & Susannah M. Sallu & Stephen Whitfield & Astrid Jankielsohn & William E. Kunin & Ndumiso Mazibuko & Bonani Nyhodo, 2021. "Impacts of COVID-19 on Diverse Farm Systems in Tanzania and South Africa," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(17), pages 1-16, September.
    18. Tricia Glazebrook & Emmanuela Opoku, 2020. "Gender and Sustainability: Learning from Women’s Farming in Africa," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(24), pages 1-20, December.
    19. Manyanga, Mark & Murendo, Conrad & Pedzisa, Tarisayi & Mutyasira, Vine & Ndou, Richard, 2023. "Resilience capacities and implications for food security in Zimbabwe," African Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, African Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 17(4), February.
    20. Andrea Pronti, 2017. "Agroecologia e agricoltura convenzionale a confronto. Un’analisi di sostenibilità socio-economica e ambientale nella produzione familiare di caffè in Brasile/Comparing agroecology and conventional agr," IRCrES Working Paper 201707, CNR-IRCrES Research Institute on Sustainable Economic Growth - Moncalieri (TO) ITALY - former Institute for Economic Research on Firms and Growth - Torino (TO) ITALY.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:14:p:5851-:d:387354. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.