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Area of agricultural land under irrigation

Agricultural land has expanded and intensified between 1990 and 2006; partly this occurred at the expense of high nature value farmland, pastures and marginal land. The period after 2006 has seen a reversal of the overall trend and the total agricultural land started to decline in Europe (EEA, 2017d). This decline can be related to the ongoing decline of the rural population, the 2006 CAP reform that (largely) decoupled production from payments, and the provision of relevant economic incentives by CAP to set aside or abandon existing agricultural land or cultivate it less intensively. Due to mechanisation and automisation, cultivation and management of large agricultural areas needs less manpower and labour effort per person nowadays. The decrease of total agricultural land has therefore not been substantial. Furthermore, significant conversions to agricultural land have been observed in some EU Member States (e.g. Germany, Czechia, Hungary, Baltic countries and Ireland). This could be potentially related to changing climate conditions that favour agricultural activities in northern latitudes of Europe, as well as to increased EU support through CAP for the newer Member States (EEA, 2017d).