http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-09/uoc-pf090815.php

Public Release: 9-Sep-2015
Paying farmers to help the environment works, but 'perverse' subsidies must be balanced
University of Cambridge

New research suggests that offering financial incentives for farming industries to mitigate the impact agriculture has on the environment, by reducing fertiliser use and 'sparing' land for conservation, for example, actually has a positive effect on critical areas such as greenhouse gas reduction and increased biodiversity.

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However, the research team also mapped the proportion of global agricultural production reinvested in environmental incentives, and compared it to the proportion gifted to the industry through government subsidies. As expressed in pie charts, the results show big wedges of subsidy stacked on top of barely perceptible slivers of environmental investment.

For example, around 20% of the value of agriculture production in the EU is subsidised by the taxpayer. However, less than 1% goes towards mitigating the toll farming takes on the natural world - despite agriculture contributing more to environmental degradation than any other economic sector, say researchers.

The team describe current agriculture funding models as 'perverse subsidies': promoting negative actions in both the long and short term by being bad for the environment and costly to the economy.

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