The Economic Component of NELUP

The economic component of NELUP occupies a key position within the decision support system, modelling the response of agricultural land use to changing market and policy conditions. Linear programming was adopted as an appropriate modelling technique, satisfying constraints imposed by the objectives and structure of NELUP. The model was constructed using information from numerous datasets and has been validated against agricultural census data for the period 1980 to 1988. Forecasting runs have included investigation of the impact of the MacSharry reforms of the CAP on agriculture in the Tyne catchment.