Organisation of the livestock sector and the environment. 20 years after the nitrate directive

Abstract

During the last decades, a double movement of industrial and spatial concentration has been observed in the livestock sector in France, as in many countries in Europe and North America. The falling of the relative price of energy over this period, the presence of scale economies at different stages of animal industries, the gains associated with the spatial concentration and geographical proxi-mity between farmers and downstream/upstream industries are key factors explaining the agglomeration of animal production. However, this spatial concentration of animal production is a serious source of watercourse pollution worldwide. Different measures of environmental regulation have emerged, notably through the 1991 Nitrate Directive, but the current policies are insufficient to counteract these agglomeration factors causing excess nitrogen in the territories specialized in livestock production. Several arguments can be advanced showing that environmental regulation could be more effective if it concerned not only farmers but also downstream/upstream industries.