Farming Efficiency (abbreviated to FE) represents extra Food yield per Rural Population.
What is Farming Efficiency
Farming Efficiency represents the rural development of a province like mills, farming equipment, sheds or beasts of burden. FE determines how much Rural Pops produce: a Rural Pop always produces 1 food to feed themselves but produces more food according to the percentage of FE in the province. For example, at 15% FE a Rural Pop in the province produces 1.15 food, while at 30% a Rural Pop produces 1.30 food. This excess food can then be used to feed Urban Pops or turned into Rural Production to produce Rural Trade Goods (see Food and Production for details). Because FE is the only source of excess food, it acts as a hard limit on urbanisation and forms the foundation of economic development.
Calculation of Farming Efficiency
Every province has a pile of ducats dedicated to FE that determines the level of FE in the province. Each level has a threshold determined by multiplying the Historic Innate Fertility of a province by 20 and then dividing it by either 1, 0.75, 0.5 or 0.3 depending on the terrain (see below).
| Multiplier | Terrain |
|---|---|
| 1 | Farmlands, Tundra. |
| 0.75 | Grasslands, Plains, Forest, Marsh, Jungle, Woods, Drylands. |
| 0.5 | Coastline, Taiga, Steppe, Mountains, Hills, Savannah, Highlands, Floodplains. |
| 0.3 | Desert, Desert Mountains, Coastal Desert. |
For every threshold that the pile of ducats reaches 5% of FE is added (minimum is 15%) up until the maximum of 95%. For example, a province with a Historic Innate Fertility of 6 and grasslands terrain would have a threshold of 160 ducats per FE level. If the pile of ducats in the province is 600, three thresholds would be reached for a FE of 30% (minimum 15% + 3 * 5%).
The level of FE is recalculated every census (the hidden event chain that recalculates all POP variables).
Increased by
FE improvement comes from five sources: Rural Wealth, Urban Wealth, Farm Estates, Loot and Water Consumption. Every census ducats from these sources get added to the pile of ducats dedicated to FE in a province.
Rural Wealth investment
Rural wealth goes to FE in two ways. First, every census 40% of the rural wealth growth of a province gets invested. Second, the Rural Province AI can decide to invest the liquid rural wealth in FE (as opposed to in Farm Estates/Plantations or Urban Buildings). It will do so if the demand for food (from Urban Pops) in the province and/or in the region is high, compared to the price of the Rural Trade Good and (only for Farm Estates) the demand for food in the continent.
Urban Wealth investment
40% of Urban wealth growth every census is pooled regionally, after which it's invested in FE divided over the provinces of the region based on their historic innate fertility.
Farm Estate investment
If the Farm Estate is selling food to the local (within the province) and/or regional food market it will invest some ducats in FE dependent on the size of the Farm Estate and the price of its rural good (see Food for details on food markets).
Loot investment
50% of the loot that is going to the Rural Wealth of a province gets directly invested in FE (see Looting for details).
Water Consumption
Large rivers have regular floods, which is used for irrigation in the provinces that suffer from them. The irrigation in the province adds to Farming Efficiency whenever the river floods dependent on rural population and the size of the flood.
Decreased by
The pile of ducats that determine FE is decreased when a province is occupied (value taken away is then looted) or when a large river flood does damage to the province. The province only loses a level of FE if the damage is enough to put the value of the pile of ducats below a certain threshold (see the calculation of FE for details).
How to influence Farming Efficiency as a player
The player is not directly able to improve FE. However, they can manipulate circumstances to ensure FE is growing in their provinces through a number of ways:
- Build buildings and develop centres of Trade and Production that increase wealth growth through increased population, trade, production or % wealth growth.
- Increase demand for food in the region so that the Province AI and Farm Estates start investing in FE.
- Bring home loot.
- Protect provinces from getting looted and protect sources of wealth growth.
- Protect provinces alongside a large river from flooding.