Abstract
Background and Purpose: The purpose of this study is to describe the principles of the development of parallel system-dynamics and agent-based models of organic farming for the case of Slovenia. The advantage of agent-based modeling is demonstrated by including geospatial information as an agent attribute. The models were compared by the validation, confirming the appropriate level of similarity.
Design/Methodology/Approach: Both system-dynamics and agent-based modeling approaches were applied. Statistical methods were used in the validation.
Results: The results of the validation confirm the appropriateness of the proposed agent-based model. Introducing additional attributes into the agent-based model provides an important advantage over the system-dynamics model, which serves as the paradigmatic example.
Conclusion: A thorough validation and comparison of the results of the system-dynamics and agent-based models indicates the proper approach to combining the methodologies. This approach is promising, because it enables the modeling of the entire agricultural sector, taking each particular farm into account.
Diffusion of organic farming among Dutch pig farmers: An agent-based model
