The Value of Agricultural Biodiversity in Hungarian Home Gardens: Agri-Environmental Policies in a Transitional Economy Ekin Birol and Agnes Gyovai

Agricultural biodiversity and Hungarian home gardens Problem: Erosion of agricultural biodiversity International efforts to conserve the remaining agricultural biodiversity riches (e.g. CBD and IT) The remaining agricultural biodiversity can be found in developing countries and in small farms and home gardens in marginalised areas of developed countries Example: Traditional Hungarian home gardens

Hungarian Home gardens Traditional Hungarian home gardens –Privately owned homestead fields during collectivisation era –Labour intensive, traditional production that still persists –Agricultural biodiversity rich micro agro-ecosystems Home gardens provide multifunctional agriculture –Private benefits: food quality and quantity –Public benefits: conservation of agricultural biodiversity, biodiversity, Hungarian cultural heritage and rural settlements.

Present agri-environmental policies and home gardens EU CAP agri-environmental regulation 2078/92 supporting multifunctional agriculture Hungarian National Agri-Environmental Programme (NAEP) Special Accession Programme for Agriculture and Rural Development (SAPARD) Home gardens are excluded from these national and EU level agri-environmental programmes

Aims of this study International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI), Institute of Agrobotany and Institute of Environmental Management Document agricultural biodiversity in Hungarian home gardens and their private and public values Investigate in which regions and with which farm households most of the agricultural biodiversity remains Assist NAEP for development of policies for continued conservation of home gardens and agricultural biodiversity therein Conduct a choice experiment, a farm household survey, an institutional analysis and scientific analysis

Description of the regions

Description of the sample Household lists compiled for a random sample Screening letters sent to select households with home gardens Final household lists augmented with the help of key farmers 332 household were interviewed in 22 villages of 3 regions

Description of the sample

The choice experiment study Choice experiment is a non-market valuation method that can value the multiple benefits of home gardens Attributes (outputs & services) and levels –Crop species diversity. Count index with 6, 13, 20, 25 species –Agro-diversity. Integrated crop and livestock production vs. specialised crop production –Organic production. Home garden produced entirely with organic production methods vs. not –Landrace. Home garden contains a landrace vs. not –Self-sufficiency. % of annual household food consumption that is expected that the home garden will provide 15, 45, 60, 75 SPSS Orthogonal design – 32 Choice sets – Pair wise comparisons (Home garden A vs. Home garden B) with a neither home garden option –Blocked into 6 versions with 5 to 6 choice sets each

Comparison of preferences across regions basic multinomial logit model with the indirect utility function Demand for home garden attributes in each region

Valuation of home garden attributes across regions WTA estimates per home garden attributes per site (in €)

Comparison of preferences across households Agricultural biodiversity in the home gardens are determined by the household and home garden decision-maker characteristics 5 household and decision-maker characteristics are chosen with VIF: –number of household members with off-farm employment –experience of the home garden decision maker(s) –percentage of household income spent on food –number of home garden production participants –whether or not the household also cultivates a farm field. Estimate multinomial logit model with interactions

Comparison of preferences across households

Valuation of home garden attributes for selected household profiles WTA values can be calculated for given household profiles

Valuation of home garden attributes by household profiles

Summary Results of the choice experiment analysis disclose the following –Crop species diversity and landraces are most important in isolated regions of Szatmár-Bereg and Őrség-Vendvidék –Agro-diversity is most important in Dévaványa, the region with industrialised agricultural production, and in Szatmár- Bereg with the agricultural household, reflecting the complementarity between livestock and crop production –Organic Production is valued most highly by wealthiest households in Dévaványa and Őrség-Vendvidék and by the poorest and the most isolated households in Szatmár-Bereg –Landraces are valued most highly by elderly, more experienced home garden decision-makers in each region

Policy implications and conclusions Home gardens have important agricultural biodiversity and multifunctional agriculture values There is insufficient assurance in continued cultivation of traditional home gardens in the future as economic environment in Hungary changes with EU membership and economic transition Inclusion of home gardens in agri-environmental programme (with farmer contract payments) is crucial for conservation of agricultural biodiversity and multifunctional agriculture values in Hungary Results from the choice experiment study can help design most efficient and least cost conservation programmes and policies