Construction and Empirical Verification of the Agri-Environmental Index (AEI) as a Tool for Assessing the Green Performance of Agriculture.

In this paper, the aggregate index of green performance of agriculture (Agri-Environmental Index (AEI)) was proposed and empirically verified. For this purpose, a taxonomic method was used, i.e., the linear ordering method, which allows for the construction of a synthetic metric for the assessment of performance. Based on 16 agri-environmental indicators from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and Eurostat database, green performance indexes were constructed for 20 European countries. The constructed indexes are based on the multi-line impact of agriculture on the environment, with a particular focus on energy issues. During the analyses, answers to the following research questions were sought: Is the AEI an appropriate tool for evaluating the green performance of agriculture? What is the overall situation in this matter in EU countries? Which areas in terms of the impact of agriculture on the environment require remedial actions? The results of surveys show that the level of green performance in countries is still low (an average of 0.3069). The article indicates the areas that require special attention in the context of continuation of greening processes in the agricultural sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]