Agriculture and environment: friends or foes? Conceptualising agri-environmental discourses under the European Union’s Common Agricultural Policy

Ilona Rac (Avtor), Karmen Erjavec (Avtor), Emil Erjavec (Avtor)

Povzetek

The European Union’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), in addition to its primary production and farm income goals, is a large source of funding for environmentally friendly agricultural practices. However, its schemes have variable success and uptake across member states (MS) and regions. This study tries to explain these differences by demonstrating differences between policy levels in the understanding of the relationship between nature and farming. To compare constructs and values of the respective policy communities, their discursive construction as it appears in the main strategic EU and MS agricultural policy documents is analysed. The theoretical framework integrates elements from existing frameworks of CAP and environmental discourse analysis; specific agri-environmental discourses, their elements and interplay, are identified. The six discourses suggested here are ‘Productivism’, ‘Classical neoliberal’, ‘Ecological modernisation’, ‘Administrative’, ‘Multifunctionality’ and ‘Radical green’. The discourse analysis of selected documents reveals that there are indeed differences in how farming and the environment are generally conceptualised at different levels of CAP decision-making. At EU level, farming is primarily understood as a sector whose main task is to produce food (‘Productivism’), and the environment is used as a justification for CAP payments (‘Multifunctionality’). At the national/regional level, Rural Development Programmes reflect different value systems: in England, environmental protection is mainly seen as sound management of natural capital (‘Classical neoliberal’); in Finland, a benefit for producers and conscious consumers (‘Ecological modernisation’); in Croatia, a necessity limiting productivity (‘Productivism’) and imposed by an external authority (‘Administrative’ discourse). This diversity shows that differences can visibly manifest despite the Commission constraining the discursive space, helping to explain the differential implementation and success of environmental measures.

Ključne besede

kmetijstvo;varstvo okolja;skupna kmetijska politika;CAP;razvoj podeželja;EU;diskurz;

Podatki

Jezik:	Angleški jezik
Leto izida:	2024
Tipologija:	1.01 - Izvirni znanstveni članek
Organizacija:	UL BF - Biotehniška fakulteta
UDK:	631:502
COBISS:	157508867
ISSN:	1572-8366
Št. ogledov:	23
Št. prenosov:	5
Ocena:	0 (0 glasov)
Metapodatki:

Ostali podatki

Sekundarni jezik:	Slovenski jezik
Sekundarne ključne besede:	kmetijstvo;varstvo okolja;skupna kmetijska politika;CAP;razvoj podeželja;EU;diskurz;
Vrsta dela (COBISS):	Članek v reviji
Strani:	str. 147-166
Letnik:	ǂVol. ǂ41
Zvezek:	ǂiss. ǂ1
Čas izdaje:	2024
DOI:	10.1007/s10460-023-10474-y
ID:	23010057