| Article ID: | iaor20091097 |
| Country: | United Kingdom |
| Volume: | 93 |
| Issue: | 1/3 |
| Start Page Number: | 90 |
| End Page Number: | 114 |
| Publication Date: | Mar 2007 |
| Journal: | Agricultural Systems |
| Authors: | Viaggi D., Bartolini F., Bazzani G.M., Gallerani V., Raggi M. |
| Keywords: | programming: linear, programming: multiple criteria |
The objective of this paper is to evaluate the impacts of agriculture and water policy scenarios on the sustainability of selected irrigated farming systems in Italy, in the context of the forthcoming implementation of the directive EC 60/2000. Directive EC 60/2000 (Water Framework Directive) is intended to represent the reference norm regulating water use throughout Europe. Five main scenarios were developed reflecting aspects of agricultural policy, markets and technologies: Agenda 2000, world market global sustainability, provincial agriculture and local community. These were combined with two water price levels, representing stylised scenarios for water policy. The effects of the scenarios on irrigated systems were simulated using multi-attribute linear programming models representing the reactions of the farms to external variables defined by each scenario. The output of the models consists of economic, social and environmental indicators aimed at quantifying the impact of the scenarios on different aspects of sustainability relevant for irrigated farming systems. Five Italian irrigated farming systems were considered: cereal, rice, fruit, vegetables and citrus.