Cap and the regions

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National and EU policies need to take into, account the extreme diversity of the agricultural sector from region to region. ln addition policy makers now have to deal not only with the productive functions of agriculturé but also the sectors contribution to, economic development and the management of natural resources. To help decision making in this complex situation, there is a need to analyse in depth the processes leading to spatial diversity in the structure and dynamics of agriculture in the EU and to build appropriate tools for this analysis.

This book marks a step in this direction. lt brings together the research work of a group of scientists from diverse backgrounds (agronomy, ecology, economics, geography, political science, soil science) who shared these concerns. To have a common framework of analysis, a multidisciplinary regionalised database (AGRIREG) has been built. The various components of this database, which integrates several European databases (regional socio-economic data, farm structures, agricultural subsidies, soil capability), are described, and the potentialities and limits of applying it to the empirical analysis of regional agricultural adjustment patterns and processes, within the EU are discussed.