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A D Evans - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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does Organic Farming benefit biodiversity
Biological Conservation, 2005Co-Authors: David G Hole, Allan J Perkins, Jeremy D Wilson, I H Alexander, Philip V Grice, A D EvansAbstract:Abstract The intensification and expansion of modern agriculture is amongst the greatest current threats to worldwide biodiversity. Over the last quarter of the 20th century, dramatic declines in both range and abundance of many species associated with farmland have been reported in Europe, leading to growing concern over the sustainability of current intensive Farming practices. Purportedly ‘sustainable’ Farming systems such as Organic Farming are now seen by many as a potential solution to this continued loss of biodiversity and receive substantial support in the form of subsidy payments through EU and national government legislation. This paper assesses the impacts on biodiversity of Organic Farming, relative to conventional agriculture, through a review of comparative studies of the two systems, in order to determine whether it can deliver on the biodiversity benefits its proponents claim. It identifies a wide range of taxa, including birds and mammals, invertebrates and arable flora, that benefit from Organic management through increases in abundance and/or species richness. It also highlights three broad management practices (prohibition/reduced use of chemical pesticides and inOrganic fertilisers; sympathetic management of non-cropped habitats; and preservation of mixed Farming) that are largely intrinsic (but not exclusive) to Organic Farming, and that are particularly beneficial for farmland wildlife. However, the review also draws attention to four key issues: (1) It remains unclear whether a ‘holistic’ whole-farm approach (i.e. Organic) provides greater benefits to biodiversity than carefully targeted prescriptions applied to relatively small areas of cropped and/or non-cropped habitats within conventional agriculture (i.e. agri-environment schemes); (2) Many comparative studies encounter methodological problems, limiting their ability to draw quantitative conclusions; (3) Our knowledge of the impacts of Organic Farming in pastoral and upland agriculture is limited; (4) There remains a pressing need for longitudinal, system-level studies in order to address these issues and to fill in the gaps in our knowledge of the impacts of Organic Farming, before a full appraisal of its potential role in biodiversity conservation in agroecosystems can be made.
Stephan Dabbert - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Determinants of Spatial Distribution of Organic Farming in Germany
2005Co-Authors: Barbara Bichler, Stephan Dabbert, Anna Maria Häring, Christian LippertAbstract:The share of Organically managed land is spread unevenly throughout Germany and shows pronounced regional concentrations. The spatial distribution of Organic Farming is assumed to be influenced by several factors. Location factors of farms are regionally different and thus may influence the spatial distribution of Organic Farming. Agglomeration effects and therefore spatial dependence are also considered important in determining spatial distribution. These factors with a potential influence on the spatial distribution of Organic Farming can be divided into four categories: natural factors, farm-structure factors, socio-economic factors and political factors. Their possible influence on the spatial distribution of Organic Farming is analysed by several statistical methods: ordinary least square regression model, spatial autoregressive models, analysis of variance and Spearman correlation. Of the analysed factors, spatial contiguity has the strongest influence on the spatial distribution of Organic Farming (indicating relevant agglomeration effects).
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Organic Farming: Policies and Prospects
2004Co-Authors: Stephan Dabbert, Anna Maria Häring, Raffaele ZanoliAbstract:Organic Farming - a grassroots movement taken over by policy? Organic Farming in Europe at the dawn of the new millennium - farms, land area and regional distribution, markets, institutions, research and innovation, European policies for Organic Farming in the 1990s, the development of Organic Farming in selected countries, conclusion Organic Farming's contribution to policy objectives - environmental performance, food quality, farm income, rural development, surplus reduction and government expenditure, criticism of Organic Farming policy a changing policy environment - agenda 2000, EU enlargement, WTO negotiations, possible futures, Organic Farming and agricultural policy recommendations for future Organic Farming policy - an integrated approach, status quo analysis, objectives and strategic decisions, instruments and addressees, monitoring and control, conclusions references - addresses of Organic Farming organizations, international organizations, research organizations, producer associations.
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Organic Farming: Policy and Prospects
2003Co-Authors: Stephan Dabbert, Anna Maria Häring, Raffaele ZanoliAbstract:Food retailers in Europe, including supermarkets, have responded to rapidly rising demand for Organic produce. The Organic sector has moved from a marginal production fad to a serious subject of policy concern for politicians and public servants involved in European agricultural policy. Drawing on a huge body of scientific research, this book - reviews the Organic Farming sector today and the policies developed towards it - assesses its contributions to the environment, food quality, farmers' incomes, and rural development - explains the key factors impinging on the Organic Farming sector in future - makes a detailed range of recommendations for future Organic Farming policy Contents 1 Organic Farming: A grassroots movement taken over by policy? 2 Organic Farming in Europe at the dawn of the new millennium 3 Organic Farming's contribution to policy objectives 4 A Changing Policy Environment 5 Recommendations for future Organic Farming policy from: Dabbert, S. und Haring, A. M. und Zanoli, R. (2003): Organic Farming: Policy and Prospects. Zed Books
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Will policy support for Organic Farming be justified in the future? The environmental impacts of Organic Farming
2002Co-Authors: Anna Maria Häring, Stephan Dabbert, Matthias StolzeAbstract:Introduction: In the European Union, Organic Farming has experienced a dynamic development in the 1990s, in part debited to financial support from agricultural policy measures. The most commonly used argument in support of Organic Farming is its positive environmental effects. However, support of Organic Farming practices on those grounds is only justified if these actually result in less negative environmental impacts than conventional Farming. Stolze et al. (1999) reviewed existing research results up to 1997 on this topic and compiled a qualitative comparative evaluation based on an adapted OECD environmental indicator concept for agriculture (OECD 1997). On a per hectare basis, Organic Farming showed to be less detrimental with respect to most indicators than conventional Farming. This paper will evaluate new evidence on the issue, taking results on a per output basis and the most recent developments in general EU agricultural legislation and Organic standards into account. Materials and Methods: The OECD set of environmental indicators for the agricultural sector adapted by Stolze et al. (1999) is used. Based on a literature review of research results compiled between 1997 and 2002 a qualitative assessment is given for the following indicator categories: i) ecosystem, ii) natural resources (soil, ground and surface water, climate and air), iii) farm input and output, iv) animal health and welfare. The effect of recent developments in general agriculture EU legislation and Organic standards on the relative benefits of Organic Farming is evaluated to assess if conventional agriculture is approaching Organic agriculture due to tightening general legislation. Additionally, the option of achieving beneficial effects on some indicator categories when combining Organic production with a targeted management of non-productive areas is reviewed. Results and Discussion: Organic Farming seems to perform better than conventional Farming with respect to all considered indicators, but large differences exist between indicators. New evidence permitted the evaluation on a per output basis for some indicators. This changes the final qualitative assessment for some indicators or indicator categories compared to the results of Stolze et al. (2000). Recent developments in EU legislation on agriculture in general do not seem to fundamentally change the relative assessment of the environmental impacts of Organic in comparison to conventional agriculture. However, some important developments are not yet reflected in research results, e.g. the EU Organic animal husbandry standards (European Commission 1999) which were implemented only in the year 2000. Conclusions: Support to Organic Farming is justified due to its positive environmental effects. However, the relative benefits must continue to be monitored in the light of current developments in agricultural legislation and Organic standards. Cost-benefit analyses of the environmental effects of Organic Farming support in comparison to other agri-environmental measures and conventional Farming are needed.
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Benefits of Organic Farming for Society
2001Co-Authors: Anna Maria Häring, Stephan Dabbert, Frank Offermann, H. NiebergAbstract:Recent food scares have lead to a boom in demand for Organic products and an increasing awareness of policy makers of the potential benefits of Organic Farming. However, policies specifically targeting Organic Farming support do not remain beyond dispute and a sound justification of these is in great demand. The potential specific contribution of Organic Farming to the achievement of some of the key objectives of the European Common Agricultural Policy, e.g. competitiveness of agriculture, Farming income, food supply, food quality and minimisation of negative environmental impacts of agricultural production are discussed. It is argued that Organic Farming can contribute to the objectives of the CAP, however, addressing the various objectives to different degrees. The environmental effects of Organic Farming seem to be largely positive in comparison to conventional Farming on a per hectare basis in all categories, be it biodiversity, input-output balances or soil and water resources, although other Farming systems might perform better with respect to single indicators or when results are related to the amount of produced output. The quality of Organically produced food seems to be higher than that of conventionally produced food for several indicators, for example, the risk of food contamination with pesticides and or nitrate tends to be lower. Income levels from Organic Farming are on average comparable to income generated on conventional farms, and Organic Farming is clearly a profitable alternative for quite a few farms in Europe. With respect to rural development Organic Farming is expected to have little direct effects, e.g. on unemployment rates, although small scale marketing and processing initiatives may contribute directly to rural employment. However, indirect effects such as increased employment in tourism due to a positive “ecological” image of a region can be of importance. Conclusively, Organic Farming can contribute to several of the declared policy objectives of the CAP. However, the information available to date does not permit a clear conclusion if Organic Farming achieves desirable effects at lower costs than other Farming systems. Nevertheless, the positive effects on a broad range of objectives clearly justifies the support of Organic Farming and is therefore recommended.
David G Hole - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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does Organic Farming benefit biodiversity
Biological Conservation, 2005Co-Authors: David G Hole, Allan J Perkins, Jeremy D Wilson, I H Alexander, Philip V Grice, A D EvansAbstract:Abstract The intensification and expansion of modern agriculture is amongst the greatest current threats to worldwide biodiversity. Over the last quarter of the 20th century, dramatic declines in both range and abundance of many species associated with farmland have been reported in Europe, leading to growing concern over the sustainability of current intensive Farming practices. Purportedly ‘sustainable’ Farming systems such as Organic Farming are now seen by many as a potential solution to this continued loss of biodiversity and receive substantial support in the form of subsidy payments through EU and national government legislation. This paper assesses the impacts on biodiversity of Organic Farming, relative to conventional agriculture, through a review of comparative studies of the two systems, in order to determine whether it can deliver on the biodiversity benefits its proponents claim. It identifies a wide range of taxa, including birds and mammals, invertebrates and arable flora, that benefit from Organic management through increases in abundance and/or species richness. It also highlights three broad management practices (prohibition/reduced use of chemical pesticides and inOrganic fertilisers; sympathetic management of non-cropped habitats; and preservation of mixed Farming) that are largely intrinsic (but not exclusive) to Organic Farming, and that are particularly beneficial for farmland wildlife. However, the review also draws attention to four key issues: (1) It remains unclear whether a ‘holistic’ whole-farm approach (i.e. Organic) provides greater benefits to biodiversity than carefully targeted prescriptions applied to relatively small areas of cropped and/or non-cropped habitats within conventional agriculture (i.e. agri-environment schemes); (2) Many comparative studies encounter methodological problems, limiting their ability to draw quantitative conclusions; (3) Our knowledge of the impacts of Organic Farming in pastoral and upland agriculture is limited; (4) There remains a pressing need for longitudinal, system-level studies in order to address these issues and to fill in the gaps in our knowledge of the impacts of Organic Farming, before a full appraisal of its potential role in biodiversity conservation in agroecosystems can be made.
Anna Maria Häring - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Determinants of Spatial Distribution of Organic Farming in Germany
2005Co-Authors: Barbara Bichler, Stephan Dabbert, Anna Maria Häring, Christian LippertAbstract:The share of Organically managed land is spread unevenly throughout Germany and shows pronounced regional concentrations. The spatial distribution of Organic Farming is assumed to be influenced by several factors. Location factors of farms are regionally different and thus may influence the spatial distribution of Organic Farming. Agglomeration effects and therefore spatial dependence are also considered important in determining spatial distribution. These factors with a potential influence on the spatial distribution of Organic Farming can be divided into four categories: natural factors, farm-structure factors, socio-economic factors and political factors. Their possible influence on the spatial distribution of Organic Farming is analysed by several statistical methods: ordinary least square regression model, spatial autoregressive models, analysis of variance and Spearman correlation. Of the analysed factors, spatial contiguity has the strongest influence on the spatial distribution of Organic Farming (indicating relevant agglomeration effects).
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Organic Farming: Policies and Prospects
2004Co-Authors: Stephan Dabbert, Anna Maria Häring, Raffaele ZanoliAbstract:Organic Farming - a grassroots movement taken over by policy? Organic Farming in Europe at the dawn of the new millennium - farms, land area and regional distribution, markets, institutions, research and innovation, European policies for Organic Farming in the 1990s, the development of Organic Farming in selected countries, conclusion Organic Farming's contribution to policy objectives - environmental performance, food quality, farm income, rural development, surplus reduction and government expenditure, criticism of Organic Farming policy a changing policy environment - agenda 2000, EU enlargement, WTO negotiations, possible futures, Organic Farming and agricultural policy recommendations for future Organic Farming policy - an integrated approach, status quo analysis, objectives and strategic decisions, instruments and addressees, monitoring and control, conclusions references - addresses of Organic Farming organizations, international organizations, research organizations, producer associations.
-
Organic Farming: Policy and Prospects
2003Co-Authors: Stephan Dabbert, Anna Maria Häring, Raffaele ZanoliAbstract:Food retailers in Europe, including supermarkets, have responded to rapidly rising demand for Organic produce. The Organic sector has moved from a marginal production fad to a serious subject of policy concern for politicians and public servants involved in European agricultural policy. Drawing on a huge body of scientific research, this book - reviews the Organic Farming sector today and the policies developed towards it - assesses its contributions to the environment, food quality, farmers' incomes, and rural development - explains the key factors impinging on the Organic Farming sector in future - makes a detailed range of recommendations for future Organic Farming policy Contents 1 Organic Farming: A grassroots movement taken over by policy? 2 Organic Farming in Europe at the dawn of the new millennium 3 Organic Farming's contribution to policy objectives 4 A Changing Policy Environment 5 Recommendations for future Organic Farming policy from: Dabbert, S. und Haring, A. M. und Zanoli, R. (2003): Organic Farming: Policy and Prospects. Zed Books
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Will policy support for Organic Farming be justified in the future? The environmental impacts of Organic Farming
2002Co-Authors: Anna Maria Häring, Stephan Dabbert, Matthias StolzeAbstract:Introduction: In the European Union, Organic Farming has experienced a dynamic development in the 1990s, in part debited to financial support from agricultural policy measures. The most commonly used argument in support of Organic Farming is its positive environmental effects. However, support of Organic Farming practices on those grounds is only justified if these actually result in less negative environmental impacts than conventional Farming. Stolze et al. (1999) reviewed existing research results up to 1997 on this topic and compiled a qualitative comparative evaluation based on an adapted OECD environmental indicator concept for agriculture (OECD 1997). On a per hectare basis, Organic Farming showed to be less detrimental with respect to most indicators than conventional Farming. This paper will evaluate new evidence on the issue, taking results on a per output basis and the most recent developments in general EU agricultural legislation and Organic standards into account. Materials and Methods: The OECD set of environmental indicators for the agricultural sector adapted by Stolze et al. (1999) is used. Based on a literature review of research results compiled between 1997 and 2002 a qualitative assessment is given for the following indicator categories: i) ecosystem, ii) natural resources (soil, ground and surface water, climate and air), iii) farm input and output, iv) animal health and welfare. The effect of recent developments in general agriculture EU legislation and Organic standards on the relative benefits of Organic Farming is evaluated to assess if conventional agriculture is approaching Organic agriculture due to tightening general legislation. Additionally, the option of achieving beneficial effects on some indicator categories when combining Organic production with a targeted management of non-productive areas is reviewed. Results and Discussion: Organic Farming seems to perform better than conventional Farming with respect to all considered indicators, but large differences exist between indicators. New evidence permitted the evaluation on a per output basis for some indicators. This changes the final qualitative assessment for some indicators or indicator categories compared to the results of Stolze et al. (2000). Recent developments in EU legislation on agriculture in general do not seem to fundamentally change the relative assessment of the environmental impacts of Organic in comparison to conventional agriculture. However, some important developments are not yet reflected in research results, e.g. the EU Organic animal husbandry standards (European Commission 1999) which were implemented only in the year 2000. Conclusions: Support to Organic Farming is justified due to its positive environmental effects. However, the relative benefits must continue to be monitored in the light of current developments in agricultural legislation and Organic standards. Cost-benefit analyses of the environmental effects of Organic Farming support in comparison to other agri-environmental measures and conventional Farming are needed.
-
Benefits of Organic Farming for Society
2001Co-Authors: Anna Maria Häring, Stephan Dabbert, Frank Offermann, H. NiebergAbstract:Recent food scares have lead to a boom in demand for Organic products and an increasing awareness of policy makers of the potential benefits of Organic Farming. However, policies specifically targeting Organic Farming support do not remain beyond dispute and a sound justification of these is in great demand. The potential specific contribution of Organic Farming to the achievement of some of the key objectives of the European Common Agricultural Policy, e.g. competitiveness of agriculture, Farming income, food supply, food quality and minimisation of negative environmental impacts of agricultural production are discussed. It is argued that Organic Farming can contribute to the objectives of the CAP, however, addressing the various objectives to different degrees. The environmental effects of Organic Farming seem to be largely positive in comparison to conventional Farming on a per hectare basis in all categories, be it biodiversity, input-output balances or soil and water resources, although other Farming systems might perform better with respect to single indicators or when results are related to the amount of produced output. The quality of Organically produced food seems to be higher than that of conventionally produced food for several indicators, for example, the risk of food contamination with pesticides and or nitrate tends to be lower. Income levels from Organic Farming are on average comparable to income generated on conventional farms, and Organic Farming is clearly a profitable alternative for quite a few farms in Europe. With respect to rural development Organic Farming is expected to have little direct effects, e.g. on unemployment rates, although small scale marketing and processing initiatives may contribute directly to rural employment. However, indirect effects such as increased employment in tourism due to a positive “ecological” image of a region can be of importance. Conclusively, Organic Farming can contribute to several of the declared policy objectives of the CAP. However, the information available to date does not permit a clear conclusion if Organic Farming achieves desirable effects at lower costs than other Farming systems. Nevertheless, the positive effects on a broad range of objectives clearly justifies the support of Organic Farming and is therefore recommended.
Ligita Melece - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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DEVELOPMENT AND FUTURE PERSPECTIVES OF Organic Farming IN LATVIA
Latgale National Economy Research, 2010Co-Authors: Ligita MeleceAbstract:Nowadays the Organic Farming as method and Organic food takes important role for the sustainable and environmental friendly agricultural and food production. The paper analyzes the development and issues of future perspectives of Organic Farming in the Latvia. Some findings of Organic agriculture development are given, estimating the primary information on Organic Farming in Latvia regarding the trends of the Organic farms’ number, utilized Organic agricultural and share of Organic land in the total agricultural land. Besides, the state policy and support for Organic Farming have analyzed and compared with European Union (EU) and it’s Member States. The influence of Latvia’s accession to the EU on the Organic Farming development is assessed. Some issues of further perspectives of development of Latvian Organic agriculture are evaluated.
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Organic Farming in Latvia: development and economics.
2009Co-Authors: Ligita Melece, Artūrs Prauliņš, Dina PoplugaAbstract:Organic agriculture plays an important role in the sustainable and environment-friendly agricultural production. The authors paper analyse the development and economic is sues of Organic Farming in Latvia. The primary information on Organic Farming in Latvia regarding the trends, the number of farms and land use, support payments as well as a short description of the structure of Organic Farming are provided. The influence of Latvia’s accession to the European Union on the Organic Farming development is assessed. The results of an analysis of the economic performance (net value added) of Organic farms and a comparison with conventional Farming are presented.