Land use - Why care? (Sweden)

a) Why should we care about this theme?

Increased concentration of agribusiness

 Between 1980 and 2000, the number of agribusinesses declined from about 118 000 to about 77 000. The trend has also been towards fewer smaller and more larger agribusinesses. In 1980 agribusinesses with arable land of 2.1–5.0 hectares accounted for 16.3 % of all agribusinesses. Agribusinesses with 100 hectares or more accounted for 2.7 % in 1980. Twenty years later, the figures were 15.3 % and 7.1 %, respectively.

The positive trend in pastures has tapered off

Pastures and mown meadows represent a large share of the cultural heritage of farmed landscapes. As a result of agriculture's rationalisation, only a small part of the pastures and meadows that existed at the turn of the previous century remain today.

The positive trend in pasture acreage that was maintained with environmental support has tapered off in recent years. The reason for this is unclear, but changes in agricultural support are important factors that impact how much land is involved. Meadow acreage maintained with environmental support has increased at a good pace since 2000, but the rate of increase has slackened since 2005.

See charts and maps (in Swedish) at the Environmental Objectives Portal for two indicators:

area of pastures with environmental support

area of meadows with environmental support