Overall agricultural production in the EU15 has changed little over the past decade. Over the period 1990-92 to 2002-04 the volume of production rose by 2%, although the value of production increased by almost 30%, despite a nearly 5% reduction in the area farmed (Figures 3.31.2, 3.31.3 and 3.31.4). Agriculture accounted for around 2% of GDP and over 4% of total employment in the EU15 in 2003, but these averages mask great variation across EU member countries (Figure 3.31.1). There is also great diversity of production and farm structures in the EU agricultural sector, and that diversity has increased with the addition of 10 new member states in 2004 [1]. European agri-environmental trends highlight continuing challenges. The main source of agricultural production growth over the next 20 years is expected to arise from crop yield increases and improvements in livestock productivity, rather than any expansion in the area under cultivation or livestock numbers. Projections of EU15 wheat and coarse grains from 2007 to 2016, for example, suggest yields rising at around 1% per annum while the area cultivated is likely to be stable or slightly reduced [2]. Similarly for milk production, while cow numbers are projected to fall by nearly 1% per annum up to 2016, milk yields are expected to rise by over 0.5% annually [2].