The impact of environmental regulations on farmland market and farm structures: a based-agent model applied to the Bretagne region
Résumé
Manure management is a key issue for the region of Bretagne, because of high nitrogen surpluses
and pollution of this water by nitrates. This French region, characterized by its intensive livestock
production systems, is classified by Nitrates Directive as vulnerable areas since 1994. So, each
farmer does not spread more than 170 kg of organic nitrogen per hectare. To respect the
regulation, farmers must purchase additional farmland, which increase the competition in the land
market.
The objective of this study is to investigate the impact of various environmental regulations on the
land market and farm structures. It focuses on three environmental politics designed to encourage
farmers to adopt nitrogen best management practices. These policy scenarios are inspired by
regulatory or incentive tools used by French government to encourage farmers to adopt nitrogen
best management practices.
(...)