A wheat field produces much more than grains.
It also provides cleaner air, fertile soils, vibrant landscapes, and cleaner water.
These benefits — often invisible in traditional markets — are what ecologists call ecosystem services: the natural functions that sustain life and the economy.
Today, governments and institutions are increasingly looking for ways to recognize and reward those who provide these services.
This is the principle behind Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) — a model that could redefine how agricultural work is valued.
What Is an Ecosystem Service
According to the FAO and the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, ecosystem services fall into four main categories:
- Provisioning services – food, water, fiber, raw materials.
- Regulating services – climate control, carbon sequestration, pollination, and water filtration.
- Cultural services – landscape identity, aesthetic and recreational value.
- Supporting services – soil formation, nutrient cycles, biodiversity maintenance.
A wheat field can provide all four: it produces food, regulates water cycles, supports soil microorganisms, and shapes landscapes that are part of our cultural heritage.
How Payments for Ecosystem Services Work
The principle is simple: those who generate environmental benefits are compensated by those who benefit from them.
In agriculture, this means that farmers who adopt sustainable practices can receive an additional payment — public or private — based on the ecosystem value they create.
Practical examples include:
- Farmers maintaining hedgerows, wetlands, or buffer zones being rewarded for biodiversity protection.
- Farms using conservation tillage or no-tillage systems being paid for carbon sequestration.
- Producers who manage irrigation efficiently or reduce nitrate runoff being compensated for improving water quality.
Across Europe, these models are being integrated into the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP 2023–2027) through eco-schemes, rural development programs, and local initiatives.
Wheat as a Provider of Environmental Services
Wheat is an extensive crop, yet it can deliver multiple ecosystem services when managed responsibly.
- Carbon sequestration: up to 0.8 tons of CO₂ per hectare per year in conservation systems (JRC, 2024).
- Erosion control: crop cover and rotations can reduce soil loss by up to 40%.
- Biodiversity conservation: hedgerows and groundcover increase beneficial insect populations by 50–60% (CREA, 2024).
- Water regulation: soils rich in organic matter can retain 25% more water (FAO, 2023).
These measurable and lasting benefits represent public value generated by farmers who care for the land.
Experiences and Models Across Europe
Several European countries have tested PES systems in agriculture.
- France: the Label Bas Carbone rewards cereal growers for reducing emissions.
- United Kingdom: the Environmental Land Management Scheme (ELMS) pays farmers to create wildlife habitats.
- Spain and Italy: regional PSR programs support sustainable water management and crop rotations.
In Italy, projects such as LIFE Agricoltura Viva, BioValue, and Pagamenti Ecosistemici Po Valley have piloted direct payments to farmers adopting practices that benefit soil and biodiversity.
Measuring Ecosystem Services
Measurement is the foundation of credible PES systems.
Scientists use indicators and digital tools such as:
- Carbon balance models;
- Biodiversity indices;
- Satellite imagery (NDVI, LST) to assess vegetation and soil temperature;
- Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to estimate overall environmental benefits.
Data transparency is essential: without monitoring, ecosystem services remain invisible — and unrewarded.
A Future Where Nature Pays
The PES model represents a paradigm shift: nature is no longer seen merely as something to protect, but as a source of measurable economic value.
It recognizes farmers not only as food producers, but as land stewards who provide essential services to society.
For wheat, each sustainable practice — a rotation, a hedgerow, a green cover — becomes a small act of environmental regeneration.
Acknowledging and rewarding these actions is the key to an agriculture that doesn’t deplete nature, but restores it.
As the FAO (2024) writes:
“Paying for nature’s services means paying for the survival of human societies.”
Sources:
- FAO (2023–2024). Payments for Ecosystem Services in Agricultural Landscapes.
- European Commission (2024). Eco-Schemes and Agri-Environmental Payments under the CAP 2023–2027.
- CREA – Agriculture and Environment (2024). Assessment of Ecosystem Services in Italian Cereal Systems.
- JRC – Joint Research Centre (2024). Ecosystem Service Accounting and Soil Carbon Models.
- LIFE Programme (2024). Agricoltura Viva and BioValue Projects – Final Reports.