Evaluation of measures for agriculture carried out for the outermost regions (POSEI) and the smaller Aegean islands

Due to their exceptional geographical situation (remoteness, insularity, small size, difficult topography and climate), the Outermost Regions (OR) – the Canary Islands, the Azores and Madeira and the French overseas departments (Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Reunion, Martinique and Mayotte) - and the smaller Aegean islands (SAI) face specific socio-economic problems related to the supply of food and agricultural products essential for everyday consumption or agricultural production. This evaluation commissioned by the European Commission was an independent assessment of the impact of the measures for agriculture carried out for the OR and the SAI with respect to achieving the objectives laid down in their respective Regulations for the period 2006-2014. It examined in particular the relevance, effectiveness and efficiency of the instruments as well as their coherence with other agricultural measures. Similarly, the EU added value and the administration and management of the programmes have been assessed as well as the ability of the programmes to address particular agriculture-related problems linked to the geographical locations. These issues were addressed through 16 Evaluation Questions (EQs). The scope of the evaluation focused on the two main instruments of the programmes, namely the Specific Supply Arrangements (SSA) and the measures to Support Local agricultural Production (SLP). The evaluation approach included (i) the reconstruction of the intervention logic at the level of the Regulation and for each programme based on the respective Regulations, (ii) the preparation of a comprehensive descriptive part presenting the policy and regulatory framework, the socio-economic situation of each region and the national support programmes for implementation of the agricultural support measures, (iii) the conduct of detailed case studies of eight selected agricultural products : bananas (Canary Islands, Guadeloupe, Martinique, and Madeira ); sugar cane (La Réunion, Guadeloupe, Martinique); milk (Azores, Canary Islands, Madeira, La Réunion); meat, that is beef (most ORs), pork and poultry meat (most ORs except Azores); fruit and vegetables (all ORs); wine (Canary Islands, Madeira, SAI); tobacco (Azores, Canary Islands); and aromatic plants (La Réunion, Guadeloupe). Moreover, in the SAI, a specific focus has been given to olive groves, traditional cheese, mastic trees, honey and barley production. (iv) answering the evaluation questions based on data collected in the previous steps using documentary reviews, quantitative data and qualitative data. Among the quantitative data sources, the Farm accountancy network (FADN), providing detailed figures on farm income data at EU level, has been used whenever possible. (v) the provision of conclusions and recommendations based on the evaluation findings. The evaluation used a variety of quantitative and qualitative data: a) statistical data from DG AGRI, EUROSTAT, FADN, national and regional statistics and reports, and producers organisations (PO) micro-data from farms and operators; and b) information from individual and collective interviews with local, regional and national managing authorities, representatives of POs and inter-branch organisations, farmers and representatives of processing industry including SSA operators, transport operators, slaughterhouses, food service suppliers and retailers. Throughout the evaluation, a sectoral and regional approach has been applied. Therefore, the homogeneity of the data collected has been challenging as some indicators were not easily available, data series were lacking in some regions or sectors, and heterogeneities in the definition of indicators made regional comparisons difficult. FADN data has been used to enrich the analysis although it was not tailored to the diversity of the POSEI support mechanisms.


Project Details
Country EUROPEAN UNION
Start date 2015.05.18
End date 2016.08.17
Client EC DG AGRI
Sector RURAL DEVELOPMENT
Sub-sector Agrucultural Policies - Rural Dev.
Ref. ADE A528