From a political point of view, conventionalization can be problematic since, as
remarked by Darnhofe et al. (2010), organic agriculture has benefited from public
support to reward farmers for the public goods they produce. Such policies make less
sense as the organic farming increasingly resembles to conventional.
It therefore seems clear that the fact that a farm has its production certified as
organic, does not mean by itself that it is sustainable. Some system classified as organic
can be as very intensive in the sense that they heavily rely on external inputs. As stated
by Padel et al. (2009), the practice is not always in line with the fundamental principles
of organic farming. This mostly affects agro-ecological system values such as biodiversity
and nutrient recycling, as well as the lack of social considerations. With this in
mind and using as starting point the conventionalization hypothesis, this study seeks to
1677
identify the profile of organic farmers more likely to adopt sustainable practices,
drawing on the estimation of an empirical model based on a survey conducted in two
European countries where this issue has not been addressed: Portugal and Italy. In
particular, it investigates how a set of dependent variables related to farmers, farming
system, and social network determines the probability of a certified organic farmer
being sustainable, with sustainability being measured in terms of crop diversity, reliance
on internal inputs and engagement in local markets.
From a political point of view, conventionalization can be problematic since, asremarked by Darnhofe et al. (2010), organic agriculture has benefited from publicsupport to reward farmers for the public goods they produce. Such policies make lesssense as the organic farming increasingly resembles to conventional.It therefore seems clear that the fact that a farm has its production certified asorganic, does not mean by itself that it is sustainable. Some system classified as organiccan be as very intensive in the sense that they heavily rely on external inputs. As statedby Padel et al. (2009), the practice is not always in line with the fundamental principlesof organic farming. This mostly affects agro-ecological system values such as biodiversityand nutrient recycling, as well as the lack of social considerations. With this inmind and using as starting point the conventionalization hypothesis, this study seeks to 1677identify the profile of organic farmers more likely to adopt sustainable practices,drawing on the estimation of an empirical model based on a survey conducted in twoEuropean countries where this issue has not been addressed: Portugal and Italy. Inparticular, it investigates how a set of dependent variables related to farmers, farmingsystem, and social network determines the probability of a certified organic farmerbeing sustainable, with sustainability being measured in terms of crop diversity, relianceon internal inputs and engagement in local markets.
การแปล กรุณารอสักครู่..
