Sign up now!
Get notifications on new reports and products. Currently we have 32344 subscribers. Frequency: 3-4 emails / month.
Follow us
Twitter icon Twitter
Facebook icon Facebook
YouTube icon YouTube channel
RSS logo RSS Feeds
Notifications archive

Write us Write to us

For the public:


For media and journalists:

Contact EEA staff
Contact the web team
FAQ

Call us Call us

Reception:

Phone:
(+45) 33 36 71 00
Fax: (+45) 33 36 71 99


Skip to content. | Skip to navigation

Sound and independent information
on the environment

You are here: Home Environmental topics Agriculture
Personal tools

Agriculture

This page in your language
This website has limited functionality with javascript off. Please make sure javascript is enabled in your browser.

Farming has a big influence on Europe's landscapes and the quality of its environment. With farmers managing almost half of the EU's land area, the agricultural sector is a major source of pressure on Europe's environment. Over the past five decades, the EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) - accounting for around half of the EU budget — has encouraged the sector to become rapidly modernized and agricultural production itself to increase intensification; as such CAP has the growing globalization of the world's economy. More

Key facts and messages
Land use trends since 2000 remain the same as in the previous decade but most have slowed down somewhat. Urban areas, infrastructure and forest cover are still increasing at the expense of agricultural land. Farmland is often managed more intensively partly due to growing demand for bio-energy... more
Current land use trends are likely to continue though possibly at a lower rate, with built-up area increasing at the expense of agricultural land uses and natural areas. Within agriculture, arable land for food and energy crops is likely to gain share at the expense of grassland and permanent... more
Growth of the maritime, agriculture and tourism sectors is expected to continue. An important future objective for the Marine Strategy Framework Directive will be to ensure that this growth is sustainable to achieve and then maintain ‘Good Environmental Status’ of the marine environment.... more
Diffuse pollution from both agriculture and urban areas remains a major pressure on Europe’s freshwater. Cost-effective measures to tackle both sources exist and can be implemented through the river basin management plans of the Water Framework Directive. Full compliance with the Nitrates... more
Agro-ecosystems in Europe have a total annual economic value of around EUR 150 billion. more
Some authors estimate 36 % of European subsoils as having high or very high susceptibility to compaction. Other sources report 32 % of soils being highly vulnerable and 18 % moderately affected. (The use of heavy machinery in agriculture can induce ‘soil compaction’, which reduces its capacity... more
Salinisation stands for the accumulation of basic substances mainly from minerals in water and fertilizers which makes soils unsuitable for plant growth. It affects approximatly 3.8 million ha in Europe. The main driver is the inappropriate management of irrigated agricultural land. more
In Europe as a whole, 45 % of freshwater abstraction is for cooling in energy production, followed by: agriculture, 22 %; public water supply, 21 %; and industry, 12 %. In southern Europe, agriculture accounts for more than half of total national abstraction, rising to more than 80 % in some... more
Despite improvements in some regions, diffuse pollution from agriculture remains a major cause of the poor water quality currently observed in parts of Europe. Agriculture contributes 50-80 % of the total nitrogen load observed in Europe’s freshwater, with point discharges, including from... more
Archive
Sign up now!
Get notifications on new reports and products. Currently we have 32344 subscribers. Frequency: 3-4 emails / month.
Notifications archive
Follow us
 
 
 
 
 

Follow us

Sign up now!
Get notifications on new reports and products. Currently we have 32344 subscribers. Frequency: 3-4 emails / month.
Notifications archive
Follow us
 
 
 
 
 
European Environment Agency (EEA)
Kongens Nytorv 6, 1050, Copenhagen K, Denmark.
Phone: +45 3336 7100