Advances in Agriculture and Agricultural Sciences

Advances in Agriculture and Agricultural Sciences ISSN 2381-3911 Vol. 4 (10), pp. 001-017, October, 2018. © International Scholars Journals

Full Length Research Paper

Combining multi-agent simulations and cost-benefit analysis to evaluate policy options for the management of livestock effluents in Réunion Island

Stefano Farolfi¹* Louise Erasmus^†2 Christophe Le Page³ and Pierre Bommel³

¹CIRAD, UMR G-EAU and CEEPA, University of Pretoria, South Africa.

²CEEPA, University of Pretoria, South Africa.

³CIRAD, UPR GREEN, Montpellier, France.

Accepted 04 April, 2018

Abstract

This study uses a multi-agent system to simulate the behaviour of economic players in a context of rapidly evolving environmental policy. The area under study is represented by a sector of a French overseas Department, Réunion Island, with a high concentration of pig farms in the upland region and extensive sugarcane plantations in the coastal zone. We first simulate local pig farmers’ reactions to several policy options aimed at reducing the pollution coming from pig rearing. Multi- agent simulations are then coupled with cost-benefit analysis in order to calculate the net present value of different policy options. Advantages and limits of the use of the proposed methods to support decision-making are finally discussed.

Key words: Environmental policy, decision-making, livestock effluents, Réunion Island, multi-agent system, cost-benefit analysis.