Fighting the pollinators decline in practice – farmers’ willingness to accept an eco-scheme for their conservation in Aragon, Spain

We design an eco-scheme under the framework of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) 2023–2027 integrating the two most relevant agricultural practices for pollinator conservation: setting aside conservation land areas and reducing pesticides. Our main objectives are: (i) to measure farmers’ willingness to accept the implementation of pollinators-friendly agricultural practices, and (ii) to assess the effect of farmers’ environmental concerns and the source of recommendation on said willingness. A choice experiment is used to measure farmers’ preference for alternative designs of the eco-scheme in two cropping systems representative of the Aragonese and Mediterranean agriculture: rainfed extensive crops and irrigated/permanent crops. As we find, Aragonese farmers are willing to uptake agricultural practices for pollinator conservation to certain extent if they are paid to do so. This is especially true for setting aside land for conservation where more demanding practices could be accepted within current Spanish unitary payments (per ha payment). The reduction or elimination of pesticides would require payments far beyond current Spanish unitary payments. Irrigated/permanent crop farmers require larger payments than rainfed crop farmers. Farmers with pro-environmental attitudes selected more environmentally-demanding alternative levels both for sparing agricultural land and reducing pesticides. Finally, the uptake of the eco-scheme could be easier if cooperatives play an active role in its promotion. The hypothetical eco-scheme presented here could be readily implemented within CAP eco-schemes while integrating the objectives of the European Pollinators Initiative, the Biodiversity Strategy 2030 and the Farm to Fork Strategy.