Farmer demand for agricultural biodiversity in Hungary's transition economy: a choice experiment approach.

Abstract

This chapter relates economic development and transition with farmer demand for four components of agricultural biodiversity found on family farms in Hungary using a combination of a stated preference approach andsecondary data. Family farms in Hungary are known traditionally as ‘home gardens’. Production on these farms is labour-intensive, with few purchased inputs. High levels of crop and variety diversity, and integrated crop and livestock production, are typical of home gardens. It is hypothesized that farmers’ demand for home gardens will decrease as Hungary’s economic transition proceeds and local, regional and national markets are integrated with European Union (EU) accession. This hypothesis is tested with a choice experiment conducted across 22 settlements in three regions with varying levels of economic development and market integration. Findings indicate that farmers in more economically developed, less isolated settlements will choose to depend less on home gardens for food security and will prefer lower levels of agricultural biodiversity. These results suggest that a vital cultural institution may disappear with EU accession. Data can be used to identify the settlements and farmers who would benefit most by agri-environmental policies that support their maintenance, at least public cost. In some situations, supporting their maintenance is consistent with the multifunctional agriculture approach stated in the EU’s reformed Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).