Scaling up pro-environmental agricultural practice using agglomeration payments: Proof of concept from an agent-based model

Andrew Bell, Gregory Parkhurst, Klaus Droppelmann, Tim G. Benton
2016 Ecological Economics  
19 Rates of adoption of pro-environmental practices in agriculture in many parts of the world are 20 low. In some cases, this is attributable to the private costs borne by farmers to adopt these 21 practices, often well in advance of any benefits -public or private -that they may bring. 22 Monetary incentives, such as through payments-for-ecosystem services (PES) programs, may be 23 of assistance, and in this study we examine the potential for a recent innovation (the 24 agglomeration payment)
more » ... o improve adoption of pro-environmental practice in a rural 25 agricultural context. Agglomeration payments include bonus payments for adoption by 26 neighboring farms, which may help to encourage both compliance with the program they 27 promote as well as the overall diffusion of the program across rural contexts. We develop an 28 abstract agent-based model (ABM) of an agglomeration payment program to encourage
doi:10.1016/j.ecolecon.2016.03.002 fatcat:owbxy6tsirduna7l4jpwj5orzi