Beef and policy coherence for sustainable development

What are the main beef trade mechanism between the nine countries investigated?
What is the relative weight of labour costs in total beef production costs at farm-level in the nine countries?
What national legislation and implementation rules affect farm competitiveness, in relation to labour and how?
How do measures related to GHG emissions affect farm competitiveness?
What is the relationship between labour legislation in the beef sector and related SGDs?

Labour conditions and the related costs may significantly affect beef production competitiveness and international trade. In this case study, the differences in labour conditions, legislation and local rules between nine countries will be investigated. Particular attention will be paid to labour condition and environmental regulations related to GHG emission legislations in each of the nine countries. The case study is directly related to SDG1 ‘No poverty’, SDG2 ‘Zero Hunger’ and SDG3 ‘Good Health and Well-being’, SDG13 ‘Climate Action’ and SDG15 ‘Life on Land’.

The relationship between beef farmers and beef industry will be investigated in terms of labour and GHG emission requirements. The focus is on production contracts linked to sustainability requirements in the nine countries.

Policies related to GHG emissions and labour legislation that affect farm level decision-making in the case study countries at will be examined. In particular, differences between EU and extra-EU countries legislation will be identified, and explored how these differences may affect competitiveness trade in beef meat.

Labour cost and regulations related to GHG emissions can significantly, and increasingly, affect the competitiveness of beef value chains and have a great influence on beef meat product competition in the global market. In this case study labour costs will be quantified in each of the nine countries at farm level and, based on this, a comparison across countries will be carried out.

Due to the lack of a worldwide farm accountancy system, the methodological approach chosen to achieve the goals of this case study is the Typical Farm Method. A typical farm is a model farm representing the most common farm type for a specific product in a specific country or region. The necessary technical and economic data to define a typical farm are collected by farmers and local experts. The typical farms are fully comparable worldwide as the same standard rules are used.

Primary data collection will be performed by local experts according to the Typical Farm approach. Secondary information regarding the national legislation will be collected through a literature review and country specific official sources.

The results from the case study will show how the labour legislation in force in the different selected countries will impact the farm economy. The requirements in EU and extra-EU countries will be compared and information how these differences can affect beef meat trade will be provided to decision-makers in the private sector and to policy-makers. An improved understanding on how legislation affects competitiveness will help to detect best practices for improving labour conditions and environmental impact while maintaining competitiveness.