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Potential pathways to improve efficiency and resilience at farm-level

In a newly published report, the MIXED project investigates the relationship between efficiency and resilience at farm-level and highlights potential pathways to improve both simultaneously.

Based on an extensive framework the report finds a U-shaped relationship between efficiency and resilience. There are stronger synergies between efficiency and resilience at higher levels, while trade-offs are apparent at lower levels. Synergies start appearing at earlier efficiency levels for mixed farming practices than for specialized farming practices. 

Measuring efficiency and resilience
With respect to efficiency, the report shows that, in most cases, mixed farming practices are less efficient than their counterparts, as indicated by two distinct efficiency measures. The first measure compares farms producing the same agricultural product category, while the second measure considers all farms within the same environmental zone. In terms of resilience, we find that mixed farming practices perform slightly better than their counterparts. The use of the different resilience capacities differs between farming practices, with mixed practices focusing on adaptability and specialized practices focusing on robustness. However, some of these conclusions can vary depending on the environmental zones considered. The findings have important implications for policy makers and stakeholders in the agricultural sector. 

The long perspective
The report indicates that the perceived conflict between efficiency and resilience can be addressed by taking a long-term perspective on efficiency. In the long term, the ability of farmers to maintain high levels of efficiency is directly related to their resilience. To foster synergies, policy interventions could be tailored to specific farming practices and environmental zones. Based on the overall results in the report, mixed practices could focus on improving efficiency, and specialized practices could focus on improving resilience. By reading the full study you can learn more about the potential for pathways to improve efficiency and resilience simultaneously.

Read the full report here