Policy Mixes for the Provision of Agri-environmental Public Goods and Additionality: Some country experiences

Agriculture is a provider of food, feed, fibre and, to a certain extent, public goods. In order to secure the provision of agri-environmental public goods, some form of public intervention may be needed. Indeed, various agri-environmental policies are implemented in many countries. However, it is not clear which policy measures target which agri-environmental public goods, and identifying the appropriate policy mix for providing specific agri-environmental public goods is still open to debate. The study examines how policy measures target agri-environmental public goods in Australia, Japan, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States, and how they mix policies. Targeted agri-environmental public goods vary depending on the country. Regulations, agri-environmental payments and technical assistance in these countries target multiple agri-environmental public goods; while environmental taxes and tradable rights are used only for a limited number of agri-environmental public goods (e.g. water quantity). A complex set of policy measures in these countries also address the additionality of a policy measure, i.e. the extent to which the policy is a necessary condition for achieving the environmental target. Good policy mixes are key to providing agri-environmental public goods. This study can contribute to appropriate policy design for the delivery of agri-environmental public goods.