From Grassroots Movement to State-Coordinated Market Strategy: The Transformation of Organic Agriculture in China

10.1068/c2v ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 357-373 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Thiers

The production, certification, and marketing of organic agriculture developed slowly in the West as a nongovernmental, community-based response to concerns over food safety and the environmental impacts of chemical agriculture. The current emergence of organic agriculture in less-developed nations is following a very different trajectory owing to the presence of an established global market for organic products and the developmental goals of interventionist states. In this paper I examine the emergence of state-sponsored organic marketing and certification programs in the Peoples' Republic of China as an extreme case of developmental state intervention in organic agriculture. I find that the predominance of state and market instead of community and ecology in the Chinese organic ‘movement’ has profound implications for the ability of organics to promote environmentally sustainable agriculture in less-developed nations. Direct state intervention may overcome some of the public-goods and collective-action problems often associated with organic agriculture. However, conflicts of interest between the state as regulator and as producer erode the consumer trust upon which organic markets rely. The use of political authority to organize organic production allows state entrepreneurs to capture market premiums, reducing farmer innovation and long-term incentive, and exacerbating free-rider problems. The case of organic agriculture in China demonstrates the need for caution when applying universalistic economic theories about environmental problems to diverse political economies. This has important implications for international environmental regimes as well as the globalization of eco-consumerism or eco-labeling strategies.

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
pp. 35-44
Author(s):  
Veronika T. Turchanova ◽  
Stanislav N. Nekrasov

The purpose of the work is to reveal the concept of organic agriculture in a temporary aspect. Methodology and objects of the research are a comparative analysis of literary sources: the works of foreign and domestic scientists in the field of organic farming, foreign legislative acts, statistical data of FiBL and IFOAM. The result is the discovering of that the prerequisites for the emergence of organic production is the “green revolution”. Intensive farming led to the appearance of the opposite – organic movement. The authors considered the ideas of R. Steiner, A.T. Bolotov, V.I. Vernadsky, H. Muller, O. Mokiti, 4th Baron Northbourne, E. Balfour, A. Howard, R.L. Carson and M. Fukuoka. They laid foundation for the modern concept of organic farming. It includes four principles: health, ecology, justice, care. Authors of this article give a brief description of the state of organic agriculture in Russia and worldwide.


2009 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
pp. 1-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gopal Datt Bhatta ◽  
Werner Doppler ◽  
Krishna Bahadur KC

Increasing use of agro-chemicals, higher production cost and deteriorating ecosystem health have advocated the need to change traditional and external input use agriculture towards safe and sustainable organic production. Current research focuses on the constraints and opportunities of organic agriculture and consumers' awareness and willingness to pay more for organic vegetables by selecting producers from Lalitpur and Bhaktpur districts using spatial sampling and consumers from Kathmandu valley randomly. Data obtained from structured questionnaire were subjected to descriptive and econometric analysis and willingness to pay analysis. Most of the farmers interviewed are aware about the negative repercussion of the indiscriminate use of agro-chemicals. Organic vegetables are either home delivered and/or sold to the specialized niche markets. All domestic organic products reach to consumers without labeling. Most of the organic consumers are willing to pay eight rupees more for labeled organic vegetables. Currently organic farmers rely only on consumers' willingness to pay more to obtain a compensation for lower yields. Family income, education, profession etc are key attributes of the consumers shaping their decision to buy organic vegetables. Organic industry is too small and a long way to go in Nepal. Political commitments such as avoiding conflicting drive to maximize production, hammering proactive policy, initiating organic technology research, providing market incentives and institutionalization of Nepalese organic movement are imperative to further enhance organic sector in Nepal.  Key words: Awareness; Consumers; Marketing; Organic vegetables; Regression; Willingness to payThe Journal of Agriculture and Environment Vol:10, Jun.2009 Page: 14


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 509-519
Author(s):  
Rebecka Milestad ◽  
Elin Röös ◽  
Tove Stenius ◽  
Maria Wivstad

AbstractThis study analysed Swedish stakeholders’ views on future developments of organic production and consumption based on Organic 3.0, a strategic initiative by the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM). Focus group discussions were carried out with actors representing different parts of the organic value chain in Sweden. These identified a number of tensions, four of which represented an unresolved dichotomy in the way forward for the organic movement and its relevance for organic production in most settings. The first tension was between the drive for increased efficiency to achieve higher yields and an agroecological approach with broader sustainability values. The second concerned availability of plant nutrients in organic agriculture including safe recirculating of nutrients from society. The third tension set new technology against the precautionary principle and the notion of naturalness. The fourth concerned the role of organic as an innovation system; whether organic should be a forerunner, i.e. performing well above average and fostering innovation, or whether organic should be a broader movement including more farmers but then requiring more regulations that may hinder innovation. These tensions will result in important choices on direction for the organic sector as it pursues the Organic 3.0 goal of sustainably feeding a growing population based on farming systems based on organic principles.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 580-593
Author(s):  
M A. Bryzgalina ◽  

The demand for organic food is a prerequisite for the formation and development of organic agriculture, and the task of promoting it on domestic and foreign markets is among the priority ones. A serious problem in the sale of this category of goods to the domestic food markets of the country is the distrust of potential consumers. It is possible to solve this problem through certification and the use of a well-known brand. Certification of manufacturers of environmentally friendly products is a rather complicated and expensive procedure, therefore it is not available for most agricultural producers in the Saratov region. However, basing on the fact that today the task of developing the organic agriculture industry is set at the level of the government of the country, it is possible to solve this problem with the support of the state. The article examines the enterprises of the Saratov region of various legal forms, which do not use fertilizers and chemical means of crop protection in the production of crop production. Using the example of agricultural organizations and farms in the region, a mechanism for subsidizing certification of the most promising producers of organic wheat (winter and spring) is proposed, which includes the allocation of targeted subsidies for its implementation. As a criterion for the selection of applicants for this type of state support, as well as the distribution of budgetary resources between them, it is proposed to use the average indicator (potential) of the annual volume of organic production in the work. As a result, direct participants in certification subsidies were selected from the compiled sample of the studied enterprises that do not use chemical plant protection products and mineral fertilizers and the total annual volume of their marketable wheat was determined. The author determined the maximum cost of quality confirmation procedures for one enterprise, taking into account the increasing coefficients per one day of inspection, and also established the largest amount of budgetary resources that may be spent on the implementation of the proposed measure. In order to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed certification subsidy mechanism, the author developed formulas for determining the selling price of products in the promising organic segment, taking into account its increase by the level of premium premiums.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 561-579
Author(s):  
A.A. Leksina ◽  
◽  
E.A. Aleshina ◽  

Organic agriculture is a promising and increasingly demanded direction of “greening” agricultural activity, which has a great potential due to natural production technologies. Significant segments of organic products have been formed in the food markets of the developed countries; various institutional systems of the industry have been functioning for decades. Russian agribusiness is globally lagging behind in these matters, but the development of the economic environment has led to the objective necessity of adopting a law and a state standard that would define the requirements for the organic agriculture. Research on the prospects of the Russian food market in the global organic production system is becoming relevant. This work is a two-sided quantitative and qualitative approach to the study of existing production systems of organic food from the standpoint of the results and dynamics, on the one hand, and their organizational and economic structure, on the other. The findings and results are confirmed by the presented and systematized absolute and relative indicators of land areas certified for organic agriculture, the number of market entities, the consumption of organic food per capita and retail sales in the domestic markets. The qualitative characteristic of organic agriculture systems was reflected in constructing a set of schemes that clearly illustrate national features of the conduct methods, state regulation of production and turnover, research support, regulatory and supervisory support of the business under study. As a result, a comparative analysis of the leading world markets for organic food (USA, Germany, Canada and Austria) in comparison with the emerging market of Russia. The study is addressed to the global business community operating in the organic food market and to special research institutions.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Régis Le Moguédec

<p>A significant factor that prevented the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) from becoming as calamitous as the Great Depression of 1929, is the fact that states reacted swiftly to inject massive sums of public money to save the banks and the global financial system.  This massive state intervention highlighted the limits of the progressive deregulation of the international system which characterized the process of globalization. It showed that states had huge responsibilities in keeping the global economy afloat, albeit without a clear compass or direction. The apparent ‘anarchy’ of the global market system makes conceivable that, to paraphrase A. Wendt, “globalization should be what states make of it”.  Limiting the scope of study to the postmodern state, and looking at the discourse surrounding the globalization process that promotes de-regulation and limited government within a ‘neo-liberal paradigm’ it looks at the ‘democratic deficit’ which weakens the political decision-making process. If not yet a ‘paradigm shift’, the GFC has many ingredients of a crisis of capitalism which needs to re-invent itself, and political action is crucial to curb the excesses of finance. Looking at France, and the election of Francois Hollande on a strong ‘anti-finance’ platform in 2012 and its European Union dimension, it remains to be seen if that kind of shift will actually be able to operate and be successful to set the tone for global reforms.  In conclusion, the core argument is that the global ‘trial’ of the neoliberal paradigm and the concept of financial deregulation should now enter a new phase. It is historically and symbolically the defeat of the self-regulating markets as a blueprint for global prosperity. The present structures are inadequate, and states have to find new ways for cooperation in order to steer this integrated world towards greater cohesion.</p>


Author(s):  
Vladimir Filipovic ◽  
Svetlana Roljevic ◽  
Bojana Bekic

Faculty research is focused on the present state of organic agricultural production in the Republic of Serbia, with emphasis on existing legislation and activities planned in the next period, as well on the parallel between organic agriculture and basic principles of green economy, which represents great perspective of Serbia considering its natural potential. Having in mind that the green economy is recognized by leading world organizations for environmental protection as one of factors that could support realization of sustainable development concept through “greening” economy and opening of new “green” workplaces, the goal of this chapter is to indicate the potential and importance of the larger participation of farmers in organic production as one of the most realistic “green” chances of Serbia.


Author(s):  
Bilge Ozturk Goktuna ◽  
Nazife Merve Hamzaoğlu

Conventional agriculture has long been criticized about its negative externalities on issues like public health, environment, biodiversity, and all ecological systems on the planet such as environmental pollution, soil erosion, reduction of animal welfare, and negative impacts of GMOs. As an alternative production system to address these problems, organic agriculture has been developed worldwide since the 1970s. In this chapter, an overview of organic agriculture and food market is given and a comparative analysis between organic agricultural markets in EU, US, and Turkey is made after an outlook on the world organic food market. It is seen that EU and US are forthcoming leaders in the organic food market, whilst Turkey remains behind many developed countries in terms of organic production, per capita consumption, and retail sales.


2002 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 65-85
Author(s):  
Hae-Du Hwang ◽  
Wobong Kim ◽  
Dae-Ho Kim

Despite having achieved economies of scale, the Korean motorcar industry has not been so successful in procuring prestige in such areas of capital accumulation, technology catch-up, brand equity and managerial know-how. It may be vital to launch a strategic alliance with Chinese counterpart by providing production technology of Korea in exchange for the huge magnitude of emerging market of China. A substantial benefit may be accrued to both countries via mutually enhanced competitiveness if Korea transfers production technology of small or medium-cars to China and jointly pioneers the frontiers of ancillary industry. An up-surge in the retained earnings of the industry may work as a building block of accommodating a pattern of intensive growth by augmenting technological innovation and institutional changes. The implementation of cooperation in R&D with Chinese counterpart and competition in marketing activities may allow the Korean motorcar industry to capitalize such a golden opportunities to put itself on the right track of technology innovation, marketing activities and linkage effects.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document