A model of Dutch agriculture based on Positive Mathematical Programming with regional and environmental applications

The purpose of this thesis is to describe the current state-of-the-art of the Dutch Regionalized Agricultural Model (DRAM). DRAM can be defined as a comparative static, partial equilibrium, mathematical programming and regionalized model of the Dutch agricultural sector with environmental aspects. The focus of DRAM is to model the allocation of a number of fixed inputs over different agricultural products and on the formation of market prices at the regional level. DRAM includes features such as Positive Mathematical Programming (PMP), endogenous prices of animal manure, manure transport between regions and possible technology changes in dairy farming. The second purpose of this thesis is to provide a detailed presentation and discussion of the database and benchmark results. Finally, the results of two model applications are presented. The model is applied to analyze the economic and some selected environmental effects of changes in the EUs Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and Dutch manure and nutrients policies. It is concluded that the model is a flexible tool for integrated scenario and policy analyses at the agricultural sector level