European farmland abandonment hot spots revealed in Commission study

摘要

Southern Europe, the Baltic States and parts of Scandinavia are the EU regions most at risk of farmland abandonment, according to a new European Commission study. The study carried out by the Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC) identifies the nine main drivers of farmland abandonment within the EU27, namely: low farm income; lack of farm investment; farm holder age; farm manager qualifications; farm size; management scheme commitments; land market strength; population density; and remoteness. Composite indices of the main abandonment drivers are developed in the report to find those regions most at risk. These are: Portugal, Extremadura (Spain), Corsica (France), Peloponnese, Macedonia (Greece), Latvia, Estonia, northern Finland, northern Sweden and Connacht and Donegal in Ireland.