Fighting the pollinators decline in practice – Farmers’ willingness to accept an eco-scheme for their conservation in Aragon, Spain

We design an eco-scheme under the framework of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) 2023–2027 integrating the two most relevant agricultural practices for pollinator conservation: setting aside conservation land areas and reducing pesticides. Our main objectives are: (i) to measure farmers’ willingn...

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Main Authors: Enrique Muñoz-Ulecia, Pilar Uldemolins, Alberto Bernués, Tiziana de-Magistris, Sergio Villamayor-Tomás, Daniel Martín-Collado
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-06-01
Series:Resources, Environment and Sustainability
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666916125000209
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author Enrique Muñoz-Ulecia
Pilar Uldemolins
Alberto Bernués
Tiziana de-Magistris
Sergio Villamayor-Tomás
Daniel Martín-Collado
author_facet Enrique Muñoz-Ulecia
Pilar Uldemolins
Alberto Bernués
Tiziana de-Magistris
Sergio Villamayor-Tomás
Daniel Martín-Collado
author_sort Enrique Muñoz-Ulecia
collection DOAJ
description We design an eco-scheme under the framework of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) 2023–2027 integrating the two most relevant agricultural practices for pollinator conservation: setting aside conservation land areas and reducing pesticides. Our main objectives are: (i) to measure farmers’ willingness to accept the implementation of pollinators-friendly agricultural practices, and (ii) to assess the effect of farmers’ environmental concerns and the source of recommendation on said willingness. A choice experiment is used to measure farmers’ preference for alternative designs of the eco-scheme in two cropping systems representative of the Aragonese and Mediterranean agriculture: rainfed extensive crops and irrigated/permanent crops.As we find, Aragonese farmers are willing to uptake agricultural practices for pollinator conservation to certain extent if they are paid to do so. This is especially true for setting aside land for conservation where more demanding practices could be accepted within current Spanish unitary payments (per ha payment). The reduction or elimination of pesticides would require payments far beyond current Spanish unitary payments. Irrigated/permanent crop farmers require larger payments than rainfed crop farmers. Farmers with pro-environmental attitudes selected more environmentally-demanding alternative levels both for sparing agricultural land and reducing pesticides. Finally, the uptake of the eco-scheme could be easier if cooperatives play an active role in its promotion. The hypothetical eco-scheme presented here could be readily implemented within CAP eco-schemes while integrating the objectives of the European Pollinators Initiative, the Biodiversity Strategy 2030 and the Farm to Fork Strategy.
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spelling doaj-art-e89ae1f1814a472fa95e0b521c78bd092025-08-20T02:35:57ZengElsevierResources, Environment and Sustainability2666-91612025-06-012010020810.1016/j.resenv.2025.100208Fighting the pollinators decline in practice – Farmers’ willingness to accept an eco-scheme for their conservation in Aragon, SpainEnrique Muñoz-Ulecia0Pilar Uldemolins1Alberto Bernués2Tiziana de-Magistris3Sergio Villamayor-Tomás4Daniel Martín-Collado5Departamento de Ciencia Animal. Centro de Investigación y Tecnología Agroalimentaria de Aragón (CITA), Av. Montañana 930, 50059, Zaragoza, Spain; Instituto Agroalimentario de Aragón, IA2 (CITA-Universidad de Zaragoza), Zaragoza, Spain; Université de Toulouse, INRAE, INPT, El PURPAN, AGIR, Castanet-Tolosan, FranceInstituto Agroalimentario de Aragón, IA2 (CITA-Universidad de Zaragoza), Zaragoza, Spain; Unidad Transversal de Economía Agroalimentaria. Centro de Investigación y Tecnología Agroalimentaria de Aragón (CITA), Av. Montañana 930, 50059, Zaragoza, SpainDepartamento de Ciencia Animal. Centro de Investigación y Tecnología Agroalimentaria de Aragón (CITA), Av. Montañana 930, 50059, Zaragoza, Spain; Instituto Agroalimentario de Aragón, IA2 (CITA-Universidad de Zaragoza), Zaragoza, SpainInstituto Agroalimentario de Aragón, IA2 (CITA-Universidad de Zaragoza), Zaragoza, Spain; Unidad Transversal de Economía Agroalimentaria. Centro de Investigación y Tecnología Agroalimentaria de Aragón (CITA), Av. Montañana 930, 50059, Zaragoza, Spain; Corresponding author at: Unidad Transversal de Economía Agroalimentaria. Centro de Investigación y Tecnología Agroalimentaria de Aragón (CITA), Av. Montañana 930, 50059, Zaragoza, Spain.Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals (ICTA-UAB), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, SpainDepartamento de Ciencia Animal. Centro de Investigación y Tecnología Agroalimentaria de Aragón (CITA), Av. Montañana 930, 50059, Zaragoza, Spain; Instituto Agroalimentario de Aragón, IA2 (CITA-Universidad de Zaragoza), Zaragoza, SpainWe design an eco-scheme under the framework of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) 2023–2027 integrating the two most relevant agricultural practices for pollinator conservation: setting aside conservation land areas and reducing pesticides. Our main objectives are: (i) to measure farmers’ willingness to accept the implementation of pollinators-friendly agricultural practices, and (ii) to assess the effect of farmers’ environmental concerns and the source of recommendation on said willingness. A choice experiment is used to measure farmers’ preference for alternative designs of the eco-scheme in two cropping systems representative of the Aragonese and Mediterranean agriculture: rainfed extensive crops and irrigated/permanent crops.As we find, Aragonese farmers are willing to uptake agricultural practices for pollinator conservation to certain extent if they are paid to do so. This is especially true for setting aside land for conservation where more demanding practices could be accepted within current Spanish unitary payments (per ha payment). The reduction or elimination of pesticides would require payments far beyond current Spanish unitary payments. Irrigated/permanent crop farmers require larger payments than rainfed crop farmers. Farmers with pro-environmental attitudes selected more environmentally-demanding alternative levels both for sparing agricultural land and reducing pesticides. Finally, the uptake of the eco-scheme could be easier if cooperatives play an active role in its promotion. The hypothetical eco-scheme presented here could be readily implemented within CAP eco-schemes while integrating the objectives of the European Pollinators Initiative, the Biodiversity Strategy 2030 and the Farm to Fork Strategy.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666916125000209Choice experimentCommon Agricultural PolicyLand sparingPesticide reductionPollination
spellingShingle Enrique Muñoz-Ulecia
Pilar Uldemolins
Alberto Bernués
Tiziana de-Magistris
Sergio Villamayor-Tomás
Daniel Martín-Collado
Fighting the pollinators decline in practice – Farmers’ willingness to accept an eco-scheme for their conservation in Aragon, Spain
Resources, Environment and Sustainability
Choice experiment
Common Agricultural Policy
Land sparing
Pesticide reduction
Pollination
title Fighting the pollinators decline in practice – Farmers’ willingness to accept an eco-scheme for their conservation in Aragon, Spain
title_full Fighting the pollinators decline in practice – Farmers’ willingness to accept an eco-scheme for their conservation in Aragon, Spain
title_fullStr Fighting the pollinators decline in practice – Farmers’ willingness to accept an eco-scheme for their conservation in Aragon, Spain
title_full_unstemmed Fighting the pollinators decline in practice – Farmers’ willingness to accept an eco-scheme for their conservation in Aragon, Spain
title_short Fighting the pollinators decline in practice – Farmers’ willingness to accept an eco-scheme for their conservation in Aragon, Spain
title_sort fighting the pollinators decline in practice farmers willingness to accept an eco scheme for their conservation in aragon spain
topic Choice experiment
Common Agricultural Policy
Land sparing
Pesticide reduction
Pollination
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666916125000209
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