Research

The strategic plan of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) reformed in 2022 has been implemented in Austria since January 2023. The aim is to achieve three general and ten specific objectives. The extent to which the objectives set will be achieved will be assessed in the course of an accompanying (expected from mid-2025) and final evaluation (from 2030). Several studies will be carried out for this purpose. According to the evaluation plan, a land use study is to be prepared by the end of 2025. This will compare the observed situation with a situation without GSP and quantify the effects. To this end, a model of Austrian agriculture will be used to quantify the land use changes resulting from the implementation of the GSP. A key objective of this study is to describe a counterfactual situation in which no GSP interventions are implemented. Specifically, the following evaluation question is to be answered: “What would the counterfactual situation look like without GSP in terms of land use, greenhouse gas emissions and possibly other indicators, e.g. security of supply?” The results are particularly relevant with regard to the distribution of crop types and crops as well as the intensity of cultivation, but also as a basis for answering further questions.The following offer presents the motives and motivations for this study and explains how it fits into the plan for evaluating the Austrian GSP.Furthermore, detailed evaluation questions are proposed and suitable methodological approaches and requirements are described.The work is divided into several work packages.These include the definition of the reference situation in coordination with the client, the implementation of an accompanying stakeholder process and the quantitative description of the situation without the GSP.In addition, an economic evaluation is proposed as a comparison of the reference situation with alternative scenarios.

The project analyses the potential contribution of agriculture to reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and provides farmers and decision makers with alternative management practices for GHG emission reductions. The project has four main objectives. First, we will derive GHG emissions at farm level for farms in the Austrian Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN). To do so in a detailed and cost-efficient way, we combine FADN data with other existing datasets that contain information on farm management practices. We will publish the results of these emission estimates and our methodology to support future research. Second, we will use Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) to develop a benchmarking system for farm efficiency. This allows us to assess farms' economic and ecological (GHG efficiency) performance and identify optimization potentials. We will validate the benchmarking system together with a sample of pilot farms, using DEA to identify comparable (e.g., in size, farm type), efficient farms ("peers"). A direct comparison with peers will show specific ways of increasing the farms' efficiency. Third, the production models built for DEA allow us to quantify farm-level GHG emission reduction potentials and the associated marginal abatement costs (MAC). This enables us to identify trade-offs between economic and GHG efficiency, and thus between food security and climate change. Moreover, differences in MACs show where GHG emissions can be reduced cost-effectively. Fourth, we identify the farm-specific factors that determine GHG efficiency and MACs in a mixed-methods approach. We use statistical methods (regression analysis) to determine the relationship between farm structural factors (e.g., farm size, farm type, farm manager characteristics) and efficiency or MACs, respectively. We then use qualitative methods (interviews, Q Methodology, workshops) to investigate farmers’ goals and ideals, analyzing conflicts and synergies with GHG emission reduction. This will provide stakeholders with information on practicable leverage points for policies to support emission reductions. Overall, our project will thus contribute to evidence-based agricultural and climate policies that balance competitiveness and climate protection.

MACSUR SciPolNet is a follow-up project of the MACSUR SciPol pilot project and will build on previous results, continue and promote the network, deepen specific topics and create a basis for long-term exchange. The focus of the project is on building a science-policy network for evidence-based policy support of greenhouse gas mitigation strategies in the agricultural sector. The overall objective is to facilitate and improve the science-policy communication process for the strategic design of climate policy at farm level and to accelerate the implementation of climate change mitigation measures in the FACCE-JPI member countries. MACSUR SciPolNet thus contributes to Core Theme 1 "An agricultural sector that contributes to climate neutrality" of the FACCE-JPI strategic research agenda. At international level, climate change has increasingly come into focus, e.g. at the COP28 climate conference, where the Declaration on Sustainable Agriculture, Resilient Food Systems and Climate Action (COP28-UAE) was presented and has so far been signed by 159 countries. On the other hand, the protests of many farmers in Europe and other industrialized countries where agriculture plays a crucial economic role (e.g. New Zealand) show the political difficulties in implementing ambitious environmental measures. One of the main focal points of the scientific-political workshops is therefore the consideration of political realities when examining recommendations and the resulting activities. Following on from the work of the MACSUR SciPol pilot project, MACSUR SciPolNet focuses on: 1. analyzing and structuring science-policy communication, transnational cooperation, knowledge exchange and discussions related to climate change mitigation. 2. evaluating policies and measures aimed at reducing agricultural GHG emissions at farm level, with a particular focus on - trade-offs and synergies between GHG reduction and other policy objectives (e.g. biodiversity, water quality) - (marginal) abatement costs - Global reduction targets taking into account carbon leakage effects 3. a concept for the integration of existing models for forecasting agricultural GHG emissions.