Farmland Conversion
The Spatial Dimension of Agricultural and Land Use Policies
Land is a key input into agricultural production and the agricultural sector remains the main user of rural land in most OECD countries. How land is managed in agriculture, and the conversion of farmland to non-agricultural uses, are likely to have implications not only for the provision of food, but also for the supply of public goods such as rural amenities, as well as for the quantity and quality of water. Changes in agricultural, agri-environmental, land-use, and regional policies – together with factors such as climate and demographic changes – increasingly affect land use and management choices. This report examines the impact of several policies on farmland conversion using a combination of economic analysis and empirical case studies.
The spatial dimension of agricultural land
Agriculture is the largest single form of land use in most OECD countries and most land currently used for crop and livestock production is unlikely to change uses substantially in the foreseeable future. But there are parcels of farmland that are susceptible to a change in use. The majority of this land is either adjacent to urban areas, or at the fringe of an inhabited areas where agricultural productivity is limited (Table A. B.1). This leads to a typology of three farmland categories: agricultural zone, urban fringe and far margin (Figure 1). Understanding the nature of land use in each region is a necessary step before assessing the ability of various types of policy to control farmland conversion.
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