Data from October 2010. Most recent data: Further Eurostat information, Main tables and Database.
This article presents data on agriculture and the environment within the European Union (EU). Around 40 % of the EU-27’s land area is farmed, highlighting the importance of farming for the EU’s natural environment.
Links between the natural environment and farming practices are complex: farming has contributed over the centuries to creating and maintaining a variety of valuable semi-natural habitats within which a wide range of species rely for their survival; on the other hand, inappropriate agricultural practices and land use can have an adverse effect on natural resources, through the pollution of soil, water and air, or the fragmentation of habitats and a subsequent loss of wildlife.