Evaluation of advisory services for sustainable agriculture

The evaluation of the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) funding measure ‘Advisory services for sustainable agriculture’ focuses on the effectiveness of advisory services offered for the first time in Schleswig-Holstein for the 2014-2022 funding period.

In the period 2007-2013, advisory services were only offered outside EAFRD funding.

The evaluation is based on existing documents and literature (e.g. annual reports of the advisory service providers).

In addition, a separate survey of consulted farms for 'advisory area 4 - climate and energy efficiency' was conducted to record possible effects and impacts as a result of the advice, e.g. potential changes in behaviour and implementation on farms in Schleswig-Holstein. Climate and energy efficiency were selected because there has been little individual consulting experience on these topics.

The survey was carried out among farms that were mainly advised in the 2017-2021 period in order to check whether and to what extent the knowledge provided could already be applied/implemented on the farm from the consultation, at a certain time period.

A lack of data was identified among consulted farms, where only nine out of the 55 survey respondents had available data e.g. on the types and quantities of fertilisers saved as a result of advisory services.

Among the main findings, the use of 'Advice for Sustainable Agriculture' (TM 2.1.1) was nearly as planned. Most of the advisory hours were spent on the topics of organic farming and grassland.

The advisory services identify weaknesses and provide recommendations for action, serving as a ‘door opener’ for some issues on farms. This exchange would often not take place without the funding.

In addition, the implementation level of the advisory recommendations varies greatly. Within the three modules for ‘climate and energy efficiency advice’, there are considerable differences in the three implementation stages (i.e. recommendation implemented, started but not yet completed and not yet followed up). In particular, recommendations associated with higher investments are delayed or not implemented at all if the economic benefit is low or the payback period is long.

Furthermore, advisory services can be a building block for operational and individual change. An evaluation of advisory providers for 2016-2022 shows, for example, a calculated average savings potential of 26% per farm with milk production and an average CO2 savings potential of 25% across all crops for farms with crop production.

As the main recommendation, advisory topics of public interest, considered important for the state of Schleswig-Holstein and have little or no financial gain for the farms should continue to be supported with a high funding rate of up to 100%.

In the case of new advisory topics, a central database for the provision of information material and tools would make it easier to obtain individualised information.

It is advisable to test the form of small group counselling or field sessions as an introductory counselling service or basic offer for farms for selected topics.

Farms that have successfully implemented their measures/recommendations after receiving advice in the ‘Climate and energy’ module could be publicly recognised.

To conclude, it is advisable to assess the extent to which financial support (e.g. in the form of grants with or without EAFRD co-financing) is possible for climate protection recommendations associated with higher investments for the farms and where the financial gain is low. This would improve the implementation of measures with high reduction potential on farms.