The targeting of rural environmental policies: an assessment of agri‐environmental schemes in the UK

The targeting of environmental policies holds the key to their effectiveness and value for money. In this paper we look specifically at the targeting of the various agri‐environmental schemes likely to be on offer to UK farmers under a reformed Common Agricultural Policy. The manner in which these schemes are targeted—at groups of farmers or areas of land—and the precision with which target groups or target land is identified will be critical in their success or failure. One approach is to target the farming systems thought most environmentally sensitive. This avoids drawing lines on a map and may allow policy makers to channel money into the hands of economically disadvantaged farmers or those vulnerable to policy change. But there is also a need for a more radical and geographically‐targeted approach if problems like soil erosion and aquifer protection—requiring drastic land use shifts within specified areas—are to be tackled effectively. We assess the scope for using existing datasets to identify land that should be targeted under an American‐style Conservation Reserve Programme in the UK.