Yield increases in agricultural sectors through intensified research, technological development and knowledge transfer beyond levels which would have prevailed in the absence of productivity-promoting schemes for food and feed crop-based biofuels, as well as the cultivation of a second annual crop on areas which were previously not used for growing a second annual crop, can contribute to mitigating indirect land-use change.

(b)ensure agri-economic and agri-environmental monitoring of agricultural land, including agro-forestry, and monitoring of the condition of crops so as to enable estimates to be made, in particular as regards yields and agricultural production.

ensure agro-economic monitoring of agricultural land and of the condition of crops, to enable estimates to be made, in particular as regards yields and agricultural production.

Experience gained in 2004-2007, within the framework of Decision No 1445/2000/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 May 2000 on the application of aerial-survey and remote-sensing techniques to the agricultural statistics for 1999 to 2003 , as amended, and prior decisions such as, notably, Council Decision 88/503/EEC of 26 September 1988 adopting a pilot project on remote sensing applied to agricultural statistics , has enabled the agro-meteorological system for forecasting yields and monitoring land and crop conditions to achieve an advanced operational and development stage, and to demonstrate its effectiveness.

These dikes currently protect from flooding over 200 hectares of prime agricultural land.

The dikes currently protect well over 200,000 hectares of prime agricultural farmland, several hundred farmsteads and a number of rural communities.