A Regional Multi-Agent Model as a Tool for Modelling Small Structured Agricultural Land-Use
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Often, land-use models do not take into account social aspects. But in particular farmers’ attitudes
seem to be one of the driving forces for agricultural land-use and therefore for economic,
ecological and social developments in rural areas. The presented land-use model is an
attempt to incorporate data which are in a strict sense not economic. The farm must be viewed
as the basic entity for many questions because farmland, farm equipment, and farmer’s attitudes
differ from farm to farm. Furthermore interactions between farms like knowledge transfer
or market behaviour must kept in mind. Therefore the model presented conceives the
farms as independent agents aiming at maximum individual utility which is dependent on personal
attitudes. The utility is calculated by a linear programming algorithm which takes into account
natural, economic and personal restrictions. Interactions between farms take place on
the land market, which is modelled as an equilibrium market. Land distribution as well as corresponding
land rents are calculated with the help of a modified Sequential Simplex Algorithm
(SSO). The calculations yield data on two levels: On farm level economic and social data like
income and workload are calculated. Regional results, as aggregation of the regarded farms,
show regional opportunities and threats.