The purpose of the research was to conduct a comprehensive assessment of Slovenian agricultural policy (AP). It is an attempt at critical and independent evaluation whose results, based in evaluation theory, can contribute to the planning of national AP after 2020. In the research, we wished to evaluate how Slovenian AP defines and achieves its goals. We were interested in how economic, environmental and social aspects are taken into account and realised through current AP measures, as well as the connection of goals with measures and the success in achieving the set goals. The aim of the evaluation, which included for the first time all AP measures in Slovenia, was to assess the measures in terms of relevance, coherence and potential effects of the measures, which was carried out using the ex-ante evaluation approach. For the purposes of evaluation, based on the analysis of basic national and European strategic documents, we defined four general objectives of Slovenian AP and 18 objectives derived from them. The evaluation framework covered the entire spectrum of measures of the Slovenian AP implemented in 2016 and 2017. 50 indicators were selected to evaluate the success of the implementation of the goals of Slovenian AP. We described the intervention logic for the 18 implemented AP objectives. The assessment was based on an iterative group qualitative evaluation based on a four-point assessment scale. The analysis shows that the intervention logic is formed only partially or noticeable only in traces. We see a key gap in the formation of a more strategically oriented AP in the national definition of intervention needs. In assessing the relevance of the measures, we assessed the extent to which they address individual general and derived objectives; most address several derived goals at the same time. By far the most measures address the general objective of Sustainable and Competitive Production (86%). The results of the assessment of the potential effects of the measures show a dispersed operation and a weak result orientation of the interventions. In order to assess the distribution of funds among objectives, the estimates of the relevance or potential effects of the measures were equipped with the corresponding budgetary weights. 60% of Slovenian agricultural policy funds are directed towards the goal of Sustainable and Competitive Production. The purpose of assessing the coherence of measures was to assess the extent to which they work in a coherent manner towards achieving the set objectives and whether they are mutually supportive or contradictory. There are not many marked inconsistencies or synergies between the measures; positive interactions were observed in the majority of cases.
COBISS.SI-ID: 297597184
Based on the philosophy of science approach and literature analysis, this contribution demonstrates that over time, the focus of the European Union's Common Agricultural Policy research has shifted from market distortions to international trade and budgetary decision-making frameworks, as well as broader societal issues, such as food, environment and development. The array of disciplinary approaches has changed accordingly: from (agricultural) economics towards political and social sciences. Some key gaps in the existing research indicate the limits of overly problem-oriented and partial approaches towards science, calling for inter- and trans-disciplinary work when it comes to indivisible layers of the research object.
COBISS.SI-ID: 3895176
The proposed Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) for the period 2021-2027 will be more flexible and, presumably, more effective. To provide for sufficient ambition and prevent a race to the bottom, national strategic plans will be introduced with quantitative targets covering both policy pillars. This article argues that since formal requirements and the evaluation model are weak on actual long-term impact, substantial improvements are unlikely. To test this, programming rules are experimentally evaluated on the implementation of CAP 2014-2020 in Slovenia. The experiment shows that while measures and resources broadly correspond to policy objectives, the specific relevance of measures is generally weak and has potential effects dispersed among several objectives, resulting in high costs for individual objectives at best. Without the effective inclusion of an impact assessment, the outcome will rely on the capacity and benevolence of national governance systems.
COBISS.SI-ID: 4363656
In the European Union (EU), the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is considered to be the critical public policy in terms of both impacts and funds dedicated to nature conservation, yet the goal of halting biodiversity loss in the EU remains elusive. The present paper examines the degree of biodiversity policy integration into the CAP and the quality of policy programming in a selected EU Member State in the 2014–2020 period. We use a heuristic model combining an assessment of biodiversity policy integration and a program theory analysis of the policy’s logic model. In addition, the elaboration of the logic model for other agricultural policy objectives, relevance and potential effects of measures and allocation of budgetary funds are evaluated for comparative purposes. The program logic model was found to be only loosely defined for most objectives of Slovenian agricultural policy. At the strategic level, the integration of biodiversity policy is limited to instruments that remunerate above-standard farming practices, investments and payments to areas with natural constraints. In contrast, the inclusion and consistency of biodiversity conservation in instruments supporting standard practices (e.g. direct payment schemes) is addressed only to a limited extent. Given their design and implementation, fewer than 10 % of relevant measures were judged to have strong or significant potential effects and will thus probably only partly meet the policy objectives. The future CAP should include adequate safeguards and incentives to improve the quality of programming and integration of biodiversity policy, particularly since an increasing emphasis is given to decision-making at the national level. However, although the post-2020 CAP programming system could, in principle, be seen as a step forward, there remains a high risk of underperformance in the field of biodiversity conservation in the EU Member States.
COBISS.SI-ID: 4363400
In line with the previous reforms of CAP, which have led to a certain redistribution of payments (between types of agricultural holdings, sectors, regions), we can expect similar to happen for implementation of the CAP legislative and financial framework for the period beyond 2020. This paper discusses a scenario analysis of the impact of the future CAP, carried out using the model of agricultural holdings. The model is based on the principles of mathematical programming with limited optimization, which allows addressing various farm-level technological challenges and also analysis at the level of the production plan. The analysis was based on a shortlist of 11 farm types. We have adopted the financial assumptions as the starting point for the scenario analysis of the CAP after 2020, as stemming from the proposal on the financial envelopes for Slovenia, and the scenarios in line with the EC Impact Assessment. The results of the analysis suggest that the expected reduction in the envelope will generally lead to lower farmlevel revenues from CAP direct payments and consequently, to deterioration of their economic performance, amplified in some sectors with the abolition of historical payments (especially cattle breeding). The proposal for a future CAP regime gives Member States a wide margin of maneuver and the range of consequences at farm level can be considerable, especially for sectors and production types with a high share of CAP payments in the structure of total farm income. In order to improve the longterm resilience of Slovenian agriculture, greater attention must be paid to measures to achieve higher and stable market revenues and to upgrade the risk management system in Slovenian agriculture.
COBISS.SI-ID: 4359048