The influence of landscape on farms’ economic efficiency – combining matching and DEA approaches in Styria, Austria

The provision of commodities for feed, food and energy production is the main task of the agricultural sector but it is obvious that agriculture is also essential for the viability of most rural areas. Although the consequences of agriculture on the landscape are extensively described, the reverse is less documented. The objective is therefore to assess the efficiency of agricultural holdings in order to establish correlation between the purely economic factors and the landscape aspects. The study region “Mittleres Ennstal”, is located in the north-east of Styria in Austria. We apply a matching approach to obtain reliable data, then, a data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) is performed, followed by a second stage for interrelations analysis. Two databases supported by the European Commission were used: the IACS and the FADN. This chain process aims to provide sufficient data and allow performing an economic analysis in a proven framework. It enables us to establish ties between agricultural efficiency and the landscape and, to quantify the impact of the landscape on the competitiveness. The results show that the considered landscape features have no first order effect on the farms’ economic efficiency. However, it does not mean that agriculture and landscape are not linked together.