Effects of agri-environment schemes on farm-level eco-efficiency measures: Empirical evidence from EU countries

The European Union (EU) budget allocated to agri-environmental schemes (AES) has increased consistently over the past 20 years. European citizens should expect effective spending of these public funds, so investigation of the effects of these schemes on both environmental benefits and farm efficiency is warranted. We examine the effects of European agri-environmental schemes on farm-level eco-efficiency. Our analysis combines data envelopment analysis and impact assessment methods to evaluate the impact of scheme payments on eco-efficiency measures. Our results suggest that there is considerable scope for eco-efficiency improvements, both for dairy and crop production. Results also show that the average change in eco-efficiency scores does not vary significantly between AES participants and non-participants, which questions the effectiveness of present AES.