Overview to Four Volumes: Sustainable Agriculture and Food xlixthrough such policies as the US Conservation Reserve Programme, the EU’s agri-
environmental and rural development programmes, and the Australian Landcare
programme. Many now believe that all public support for farming should be
entirely linked to the provision of public environmental and social goods and serv-
ices.
The substantial external costs of modern agriculture, and the known external
benefits of sustainable agricultural systems, pose great challenges for policy mak-
ers. A range of policy reforms could do much to internalize some of these costs and
benefits in prices. In practice, as no single solution is likely to suffice, the key issue
rests on how policy makers choose an appropriate mix of solutions, how these are
integrated, and how farmers, consumers and other stakeholders are involved in the
process of reform itself. Attention will therefore need to be paid to the social and
institutional processes that both encourage farmers to work and learn together,
and result in integrated cross-sectoral partnerships. Policy integration is vital, yet
most policies seeking to link agriculture with more environmentally-sensitive
management are still highly fragmented.
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