Findings from the case studies
The mean AFI score for scheme farms in all thirteen case studies (where this comparison could be made) was higher than that for non-scheme farms and this difference was statistically significant in ten of these case studies (Table 4). However, due to the small sample sizes, caution is required in the interpretation of the case study results. Further, it is inappropriate to directly compare the absolute values of AFI scores across case studies because each is based on a customised, ‘local’ set of indicators; however, comparisons can be made of the trend direction i.e. positive or negative or neutral difference between scheme and non-scheme farms.