cultivar_22_Final_EN

Dynamics of agricultural land use in Portugal 81 Many of these soils were now used for new func- tions, which also differed in their dynamics. Where the land-ownership structure involved parcels large enough to support an extensification process, the poorest soils were integrated into the UAA for graz- ing. A more detailed analysis also shows that, in some cases where land tenure is associated with the availability of water and business specialisation, new farms have emerged with strong market orien- tation, high production potential and modern, tech- nologically differentiated production systems, such as the new areas of modern olive groves, vineyards and other permanent crops in the Alentejo and Trás- os-Montes. These phenomena can be observed through the clear connection in regional changes between types of land cover and predominant land ownership structures in each region. When the land structure of the farm holding does not include parcels large enough to support exten- sification, nor to guarantee the conditions to ensure appropriate succession, this land is withdrawn from production, leading to the disappearance of the holdings and hence a decrease in the UAA. iv) The importance of the territorial environment of agriculture in the dynamics observed As previously mentioned, in terms of external factors, we have, on the one hand, new market conditions resulting from the accession to and integration in a single market, with increasingly open borders, and therefore increasingly demanding levels of competi- tion; and, on the other hand, the guidelines provided by public policies, chiefly the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), with among other measures the decou- pling of certain coupled payments, and the focus on multifunctionality, extensification, environmental protection and high nature value systems. This structural adjustment and modernisation of agriculture is largely the result of the impacts of join- ing a single market that is more competitive in terms of the structural characteristics of farm holdings, but it is also the consequence of economic develop- ment, where other economic sectors show greater capacity to attract people. Once again, it should be noted that, in Portugal in 1990, 15% of the resident population worked on family farms (Figure 14), a very high value when com- pared with other more developed economies (United Kingdom 0.8%; France 3.0%; Spain 7.0%) or even the EU average of 5.7%. In Beira Litoral, this indicator reached 24.3%, i.e. a quarter of the population in this region was part of the farm household and partic- ipated in farm work. Thus, the very social and eco- nomic development of the territories naturally led a considerable proportion of the people who were active in agriculture to leave for other sectors with more capacity to attract them, through either better incomes or better overall working conditions. Source : 1989AC/90, 2009AC/10 and Resident Population Estimates Figure 14 – Share of family farm population working in farm holdings in total Portuguese resident population United King Belgium Netherland Luxembour Denmark France Spain Ireland Italy Portugal Greece EDM 1990 BL 1990 EDM 2009 BL 2009 12 24 04 08 00 05 10 15 20 25 30 EU average 1990