Institutional Embeddedness in Organic Farming Systems

 The aim of this contribution is to put some evidence on the influence of external factors in the farm decision making, often crucial in leading technical and commercial development and in fostering the expression of social and environmental sensitivity. This paper explores the concept of "embeddedness" focusing on the institutional domain that should affect market strategies. By studying the market orientation of 53 organic farms selected in two Italian regions (Emilia Romagna and Marches), the relation between regional origins and business strategies were analysed with the purpose to indirectly assess the role of institutions in promoting the development of Alternative Food Networks

Assessing the potential economic viability of precision irrigation: A theoretical analysis and pilot empirical evaluation

The present study explores the value generated by the use of information to rationalize the use of water resources in agriculture. The study introduces the value of information concept in the field of irrigation developing a theoretical assessment framework to evaluate whether the introduction of "Precision Irrigation" (PI) practices can improve expectations on income. This is supported by a Stakeholders consultation and by a numerical example, using secondary data and crop growth models. The study reveals that the value generated with the transition to PI varies with pedo-climate, economic, technological and other conditions, and it depends on the initial status of the farmer's information environment. These factors affect the prerequisite needed to make viable PI. To foster the adoption of PI, stakeholders envisaged the need to set up free meteorological information and advisory service that supports farmers in using PI, as well as other type of instruments. The paper concludes that the profitability of adoption and the relevant impact on the environment cannot be considered as generally given, but must be evaluated case by case justifying (or not) the activation of specific agricultural policy measures supporting PI practices to target regions

Water authorities' pricing strategies to recover supply costs in the absence of water metering for irrigated agriculture

Most of the irrigated agricultural regions in Europe are supplied by surface irrigation networks managed by local water authorities (WAs). Under such conditions,WAs are not able to fully monitor water usage and farmers have an information advantage vis-a-vis theWA. This results in the water authority suffering 'pricing failure' if it decides to apply an incentive pricing strategy (tariffs proportional to the alleged water uses). Indeed, farmers could exploit their information advantage by behaving in an opportunistic manner, withdrawing more water than declared, and ultimately paying less than they should. This situation could also undermine the efficacy and the efficiency of theWA incentive pricing strategies. This paper analyses incentive water pricing schemes under asymmetric information by the means of a Principal-Agent model. The Agency problem between the WA and farmers is addressed by introducing a monitoring strategy that would enable the WA to detect farms action. In doing so, we compare incentive strategies with flat rate water pricing and investigate under what conditions the WA might provide/not provide incentive water pricing in the absence of water metering

The value of information for the management of water resources in agriculture: Assessing the economic viability of new methods to schedule irrigation

Abstract This study develops a methodology to assess the comparative advantages of new methods to plan irrigation with respect to prevailing existing irrigation practices. The methodology consists of a comparative cost-benefit analysis based on the Value of Information approach that makes it possible to analyse whether an improvement in the information available to farmers generates economic benefits. The method is applied to the problem of comparing computer irrigation models (providing irrigation advice based on measurements, water balance models and weather predictions) and prevailing irrigation practices (at times based on soil and plant observations, or on advanced technologies) in estimating and predicting crop water requirements, in pilot experiments located in four different European regions. The results reveal that the introduction of the alternative method improves the performance of irrigation practices in Mediterranean regions that are characterised by high weather variability and for those crops for which the consequences of failing to meet predictions are relatively low (i.e. tomato instead of maize, drip irrigated crops instead of sprinkler irrigated crops). Under favourable conditions, the use of the alternative technology generates a 0–20% increase in gross margin and a 10–30% water saving with respect to prevailing existing irrigation practices. The study concludes by addressing the conditions that justify the use of advanced information systems to schedule irrigation interventions and by offering some policy recommendations to drive their uptake. These include subsidising research at the evaluation stage and public investments aimed at knowledge creation (weather and shallow water table monitoring stations) and knowledge sharing (counselling) at the adoption stage

Low cost electrical current sensors with automatic measurement range

We present a simple and low cost Smart Current Sensor with wide automatic measurement range. The logic core system of the sensor is the Atmel AT32UC3C2256C AVR 32-bit microcontroller, the wireless core is a Microchip MRF24J40MA IEEE 802.15.4 RF transceiver[3]. The MCU features 11 ADC multiplexed channels, with 12-bit resolution and sample rate up to 2Msps, two of which can be sampled in parallel. The sensing board consists of two hall-effect based current sensors, assembled on different PCBs in order to perform with different sensitivities. Custom primary conductor design allowed us to sense the current flowing in the conductor with two different sensitivities: the sensor mounted inside the two PCBs gets a strong contribution from the traces on both the PCBs, the sensor mounted outside only gets a strong contribution from the traces on the bottom PCB

The circular economy and agriculture: new opportunities for re-using Phosphorus as fertilizer

The increasing demand of phosphorus (P) worldwide is posing important challenges on the market stability of fertilizers. Extracting more P would not guarantee high P quality and low prices. Globally, only the European Commission, in a recent document about the Circular Economy strategy, has begun to address the challenge of the dependence on phosphate rock. Based on a simple circular economy theoretical framework, this paper proposes an impact analysis of the use of recycled P as a substitute of chemical P fertilizers. Two new technologies applied to retrofit existing wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) are considered: Moving-Bed Bio-Reactors and Struvite Crystallization Modules. The analyses indicate that the introduction of these technologies prove to be economically sustainable for specific levels of inhabitant equivalent (IE) and that the profitability of struvite, as a substitute of chemical P, increases with increasing levels of P fertilizer prices and for increasing sizes of WWTPs

The circular economy and agriculture: new opportunities for re-using Phosphorus as fertilizer

The increasing demand of phosphorus (P) worldwide is posing important challenges on the market stability of fertilizers. Extracting more P would not guarantee high P quality and low prices. Globally, only the European Commission, in a recent document about the Circular Economy strategy, has begun to address the challenge of the dependence on phosphate rock. Based on a simple circular economy theoretical framework, this paper proposes an impact analysis of the use of recycled P as a substitute of chemical P fertilizers. Two new technologies applied to retrofit existing wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) are considered: Moving-Bed Bio-Reactors and Struvite Crystallization Modules. The analyses indicate that the introduction of these technologies prove to be economically sustainable for specific levels of inhabitant equivalent (IE) and that the profitability of struvite, as a substitute of chemical P, increases with increasing levels of P fertilizer prices and for increasing sizes of WWTPs

CONSOLE Project - Deliverable 1.1 - "Preliminary framework"

The objective of this document is to provide an initial conceptual framework for the project CONSOLE. The initial framework aims at providing a basis for interpretation of the project activities, hence connecting project objectives, approach and the state of the art about the topic. In order to achieve this objective, this initial version of the framework takes mainly the approach of an organized broad literature review in support of the project expected activities. It also aims at identifying the relevant definitions and scope for the project. Finally and foremost, it investigates the tentative logic of a preliminary conceptual framework to be further developed into an operational framework in the following tasks of WP1 (and of the project as a whole). In order to meet these tasks, the literature considered is not restricted to the specific contract types addressed by the project (see below), but rather attempts to contextualise these contract types in the wider literature on agri- environmental-climate public goods (AECPGs) provision by agriculture and forestry. In doing so, we acknowledge the wide variety of hybrid and mixed solutions that may be relevant in practice. In addition, we have tried to review specifically the most recent scientific literature, including the most debated issues; some classical concepts that are well established in the literature may be neglected or under-represented here

Exploring Sustainability Implications of Transitions to Agroecology: a Transdisciplinary Perspective

Successful transitions to agroecology require shared understanding of the sustainability implications of transitions for food systems. To gain such understanding, a transdisciplinary approach is increasingly called for by funders, end users of research and scientists. Transdisciplinary processes were used in the UNISECO project to develop strategic pathways that enable transitions to agroecology in case studies across Europe. These strategic pathways were combined with scenarios of EU food systems in 2050, in which combinations of agroecological farming and food consumption practices were assessed. These were then reviewed considering selected UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a reference for discussing the sustainability implications of transitions to agroecology. Sustainability implications were identified for several SDGs including Zero Hunger (SDG 2), Quality Education (SDG 4), Responsible Consumption and Production (SDG 12), Climate Action (SDG 13) and Life on Land (SDG 15). Key factors contributing to the sustainability of transitions to agroecology are: i) mature social capital and improved farmer knowledge of the benefits of agroecological practices; ii) strengthened collaborative actions and collective institutions to increase negotiating power within the value-chain; and, iii) changes in consumer behaviour and diets. These factors highlight the need for a food system perspective in transitions to agroecology and supporting policies. This in turn highlights the meaningful role of transdisciplinary research in strengthening the sustainability of European food systems

Assessing agro-ecological practices using a combination of three sustainability assessment tools

This paper is based on results from the research project UNISECO, which is funded by European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 773901.We would like to thank all the farmers, farm organisations and stakeholders of the multi-actor platforms of the UNISECO project who contributed to the data collection. We also like to thank Andreas Basler whose corrections improved the comprehensibility of the paper.Peer reviewedPublisher PD