Eco-efficiency versus eco-effectiveness in the sustainable development of agriculture: a comparative analysis in EU regions

Abstract

The main goal of the article was to present the environmental sustainable value (ESV) generated by farms in EU regions. We can consider two points of view on this issue, either an eco-efficiency or ecoeffectiveness approach. The fundamental problem, namely the environmental sustainability of farms is different depending on the criterion we apply. When we assume the eco-efficiency criterion and use total output as an effect indicator, producers maximise it by adopted input (polluting capital), but when it comes to the eco-effectiveness criterion, there is a different priority – not production, but the lowest possible strain on the natural environment (environmental subsidies). 125 European regions (excluding the Canaries, Cyprus, Malta and Luxembourg – outliers) were analysed in 2015, as the last available year in FADN. Estimating Environmental Sustainable Value with frontier benchmarking was carried out.