Support to organic farming and bio-energy as rural development drivers

The paper conducts an analysis of the potentials of organic farming and bioenergy as win-win-win strategies promoting economic growth, employment and the environment at the same time. Empirical evidence does not indicate that conversion to organic farming will enhance economic growth and employment, but there are environmental benefits primarily due to the absence of pesticides. If energy crops are grown on idle land bioenergy has the potential of generating economic activities and employment alongside with CO2 reductions. Liquid biofuel production is a relatively expensive way of reducing CO2, but there is a potential for technological breakthroughs making it economically viable to use low value feedstock like straw and waste for bioethanol production. It is recommended that the positive environmental effects of organic farming and bioenergy are internalised through green taxes on the negative externalities from conventional farming and fossil energy use

Case Study - Denmark, Sustainable Agriculture and Soil Conservation (SoCo Project)

This Technical Note 'Case Study ¿ Denmark' is part of a series of case studies within the ¿Sustainable Agriculture and Soil Conservation¿ (SoCo) project. Ten case studies were carried out in Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom between spring and summer 2008. The selection of case study areas was designed to capture differences in soil degradation processes, soil types, climatic conditions, farm structures and farming practices, institutional settings and policy priorities. A harmonised methodological approach was pursued in order to gather insights from a range of contrasting conditions over a geographically diverse area. The case studies were carried out by local experts to reflect the specificities of the selected case studies.JRC.DDG.J.5-Agriculture and Life Sciences in the Econom

Landbrugsudfordringen i relation til klimakrisen

Drivhusgasreduktioner i landbruget opnås lettest gennem udtagning af landbrugsjord og nedbringelse af den animalske produktion. Lækageeffekter begrænser effektiviteten af denne tilgang, hvorimod teknologiske ændringer giver mulighed for at opnå drivhusgasreduktioner med fuldt globalt gennemslag

Organic farming and multicriteria decisions: An economic survey

Organic food production is a sphere where decision making is multi-facetted and complex. This applies to producers, political decision makers and consumers alike. This paper provides an overview of the economic methods that can aid such multi criteria decision making. We first provide an outline of the many different Multi-Criteria Analysis (MCA) techniques available and their relative advantages and disadvantages. In addition, theoretical and practical problems related to the use of Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) and MCA respectively are briefly discussed. We then review the MCA literature on case studies on organic farming. Based on this review we provide directional markers for future research where MCA may possibly be applied and adapted in order to provide useful knowledge and support for decision makers in the context of organic farming