Characteristics of Farms in the European Union: Relationships Between Energy Costs and Other Variables

Abstract

The very characteristics of agriculture call for specific attention when it comes to the evolution of this sector across the globe. In fact, this is a sector which produces essential products to meet basic human needs, but usually requires public intervention, through agricultural policies, to avoid an unbalanced evolution between demand and supply having consequences on market prices. This is because agricultural policies are so famous across the world and specifically in the European Union, in the framework of the Common Agricultural Policy. On the other hand, the great diversity of agricultural realities among regions calls for specific strategies to be adjusted to local particularities. In addition, climate change and global warming bring new challenges, namely in the use of critical resources (because of their scarcity and environmental impacts), such as energy and water. In this context, it would seem pertinent to assess the interrelationships between energy use in European Union farms and other farming variables, namely to identify how the energy consumption is affected by other dimensions in the sector. For this purpose, data from the European Union Farm Accountancy Data Network were considered for the period 2013–2018. This statistical information was first explored through descriptive analysis and then with matrices of correlation. As main insights, it is important to note that energy costs increased, on average over the period considered, by 2.7%. On the other hand, farms with a higher level of intensification and higher energy costs are those that receive more subsidies.