scholarly journals Economic results and development of organic farms in Latvia

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Armands Veveris ◽  
◽  
Armands Puzulis ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Organic Farming ◽  
Rapid Development ◽  
Social Goals ◽  
Economic Indicators ◽  
Conventional Farming ◽  
Organic Farms ◽  
Potential Problems ◽  
Production Value ◽  
Empirical Approaches

Organic farming is experiencing rather rapid development in Europe, including in Latvia. This could be rated from different aspects. The purpose of this article is to assess the economic indicators of the development of organic farming, linking them to conclusions stated in various studies in Latvia and other countries on the diverse economic, social and environmental impact of this type of farming, as well as potential problems. So, theoretical and empirical approaches are combined in this article. The different problems we can state as outcome of the research. The farms concentrate in areas with less favourable conditions for conventional farming. Also, large continuous areas under organic farming often leads to low production value per hectare and do not reach social goals.

scholarly journals Economic efficiency of legume-cereal intercrops in conditions of organic farming

2010 ◽  
Vol 58 (6) ◽  
pp. 189-198
Author(s):  
Jaroslav Jánský ◽  
Jiří Pospíšil
Keyword(s):  
Organic Farming ◽  
Economic Efficiency ◽  
Farming System ◽  
Direct Costs ◽  
Conventional Farming ◽  
Organic Farms ◽  
Fodder Production ◽  
Conventional Farms ◽  
Green Fodder ◽  
Final Yield

The paper presents economic analysis of growing of legume-cereal intercropping in conditions of organic farming. Results of the analysis are based on data monitoring in chosen organic farms that grow LCI. In the paper there is also compared economic efficiency of LCI grown in organic and conventional farming system. Methodological solution results from costingness and earnings monitoring of LCI production in five chosen organic farms in the period 2007–2008.When evaluating costs existing in individual variants of LCI growing it is necessary to say that the selection of individual machines and machine aggregations represents the most important factor of influencing direct costs, namely with regard to the size of organic farms and to the area of individual field blocks. Under conditions of organic farms, the LCI production is also significantly influenced also by agrotechnical (tillage) operations. As compared with conventional farms, the final yield of both green fodder and grain is lower by 14–38%. Total direct costs per hectare of harvested LCI acreage ranged in case of fodder production from 9.249 CZK to 11.620 CZK per hectare. In case of grain production, the corresponding costs ranged from 8.848 to 9.970 CZK per hectare. In case of LCI, the direct costs of organic farms per unit of production of both fodder and grain consist mainly of material costs, which represent 63–76% and 61–68% of total expenses associated with production of fodder and grain, respectively. These direct costs are influenced also by higher prices of inputs.

scholarly journals Economic Aspects of Winter Wheat and Sunflower Production Under Organic Farming Methods

2004 ◽  
pp. 256-261 ◽  
Author(s):  
Krisztina Koch
Keyword(s):  
Winter Wheat ◽  
Organic Farming ◽  
Production Costs ◽  
Price Ratio ◽  
Conventional Farming ◽  
Economic Aspects ◽  
Average Yield ◽  
Organic Farms ◽  
Efficiency Calculation ◽  
Agricultural Enterprise

On the basis of data from selected organic crop producing farms around Hortobagy and a significant conventional agricultural enterprise, the efficiency calculation of two important crops, winter wheat and sunflower were compared to each other, according to the organic and the conventional farming methods. The analysis was carried out on the basis of data of the year 2002, helped by the calculation and the comparison of the efficiency indexes. According to the results, the organic winter wheat was more highly profitable in 2002 than the conventional one, and this is because the price ratio of the two was quite high, however the yields and the production costs per hectare were almost on the same level. Considering the sunflower, organic farming was less productive than the conventional one in 2002, as the average yield in the examined organic farms was significantly lower than under the conventional farming method, and this was not compensated by the extra price for the organic crop product.

scholarly journals Education Of Competencies Of Organic Production: Possibilities And Problems

2015 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. 332
Author(s):  
Nijolė Jurkšaitienė ◽  
Laima Markevicienė
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Protection ◽  
Organic Farming ◽  
Agricultural Production ◽  
Organic Production ◽  
Social Goals ◽  
Organic Farms ◽  
Industrial Areas ◽  
The Public ◽  
Ecological Balance ◽  
Public Organisation

Organic farming must seek profitability, social goals and ecological balance. Not only farmers and processors but also consumers are responsible for this, subsequently, education of every segment is very important. In order to modernize technologies of organic farming it is necessary to have qualified and experienced employees for industrial areas as well as for organisation of environmental protection. The article is trying to assess development of organic farming and to evaluate education of specialists of organic production in Lithuania. Therefore, there are analysed the results of certification of farms, carried out by the public organisation “Ekoagros”, and a particular interest is paid to educational establishments which educate specialists of organic production. The article also analyses development of organic farms in Lithuania, presents basic problems and examines possibilities to educate specialists of organic agricultural production.

scholarly journals A Threat of Farmers’ Suicide and the Opportunity in Organic Farming for Sustainable Agricultural Development in India

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 2400 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karthikeyan Mariappan ◽  
Deyi Zhou
Keyword(s):  
Organic Farming ◽  
Tamil Nadu ◽  
Agricultural Development ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Conventional Farming ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Small Scale Farmers ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Input Cost

Agriculture is the main sources of income for humans. Likewise, agriculture is the backbone of the Indian economy. In India, Tamil Nadu regional state has a wide range of possibilities to produce all varieties of organic products due to its diverse agro-climatic condition. This research aimed to identify the economics and efficiency of organic farming, and the possibilities to reduce farmers’ suicides in the Tamil Nadu region through the organic agriculture concept. The emphasis was on farmers, producers, researchers, and marketers entering the sustainable economy through organic farming by reducing input cost and high profit in cultivation. A survey was conducted to gather data. One way analysis of variance (ANOVA) has been used to test the hypothesis regards the cost and profit of rice production. The results showed that there was a significant difference in profitability between organic and conventional farming methods. It is very transparent that organic farming is the leading concept of sustainable agricultural development with better organic manures that can improve soil fertility, better yield, less input cost and better return than conventional farming. The study suggests that by reducing the cost of cultivation and get a marginal return through organic farming method to poor and small scale farmers will reduce socio-economic problems such as farmers’ suicides in the future of Indian agriculture.

scholarly journals Can Organic Sources of Nutrients Increase Crop Yields to Meet Global Food Demand?

Agronomy ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (10) ◽  
pp. 214 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jagadish Timsina
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Soil Fertility ◽  
Organic Farming ◽  
Crop Yields ◽  
Food Demand ◽  
Conventional Farming ◽  
Chemical Fertilizers ◽  
Organic Nutrients ◽  
On Farm ◽  
Global Food

Meeting global demand of safe and healthy food for the ever-increasing population now and into the future is currently a crucial challenge. Increasing crop production by preserving environment and mitigating climate change should thus be the main goal of today’s agriculture. Conventional farming is characterized by use of high-yielding varieties, irrigation water, chemical fertilizers and synthetic pesticides to increase yields. However, due to either over- or misuse of chemical fertilizers or pesticides in many agro-ecosystems, such farming is often blamed for land degradation and environmental pollution and for adversely affecting the health of humans, plants, animals and aquatic ecosystems. Of all inputs required for increased agricultural production, nutrients are considered to be the most important ones. Organic farming, with use of organic sources of nutrients, is proposed as a sustainable strategy for producing safe, healthy and cheaper food and for restoring soil fertility and mitigating climate change. However, there are several myths and controversies surrounding the use of organic versus inorganic sources of nutrients. The objectives of this paper are: (i) to clarify some of the myths or misconceptions about organic versus inorganic sources of nutrients and (ii) to propose alternative solutions to increase on-farm biomass production for use as organic inputs for improving soil fertility and increasing crop yields. Common myths identified by this review include that organic materials/fertilizers can: (i) supply all required macro- and micro-nutrients for plants; (ii) improve physical, chemical and microbiological properties of soils; (iii) be applied universally on all soils; (iv) always produce quality products; (v) be cheaper and affordable; and (vi) build-up of large amount of soil organic matter. Other related myths are: “legumes can use entire amount of N2 fixed from atmosphere” and “bio-fertilizers increase nutrient content of soil.” Common myths regarding chemical fertilizers are that they: (i) are not easily available and affordable, (ii) degrade land, (iii) pollute environment and (iv) adversely affect health of humans, animals and agro-ecosystems. The review reveals that, except in some cases where higher yields (and higher profits) can be found from organic farming, their yields are generally 20–50% lower than that from conventional farming. The paper demonstrates that considering the current organic sources of nutrients in the developing countries, organic nutrients alone are not enough to increase crop yields to meet global food demand and that nutrients from inorganic and organic sources should preferably be applied at 75:25 ratio. The review identifies a new and alternative concept of Evergreen Agriculture (an extension of Agroforestry System), which has potential to supply organic nutrients in much higher amounts, improve on-farm soil fertility and meet nutrient demand of high-yielding crops, sequester carbon and mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, provide fodder for livestock and fuelwood for farmers and has potential to meet global food demand. Evergreen Agriculture has been widely adapted by tens of millions of farmers in several African countries and the review proposes for evaluation and scaling-up of such technology in Asian and Latin American countries too.

scholarly journals Improved Set Pair Analysis and Its Application to Environmental Impact Evaluation of Dam Break

Water ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 821 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meimei Wu ◽  
Wei Ge ◽  
Zongkun Li ◽  
Zening Wu ◽  
Hexiang Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Impact Evaluation ◽  
Evaluation Model ◽  
Rapid Development ◽  
Dam Break ◽  
Good Effect ◽  
Set Pair Analysis ◽  
Management Measures ◽  
The Index System ◽  
Pair Analysis

Despite the rapid development of risk analysis in dam engineering, there is a relative absence of research on the environmental impact of dam break. As a systematic theory, set pair analysis has a good effect in dealing with uncertainties, although the result is relatively rough and easy to distort. A connection degree of five grades and a generalized set of potential are introduced to improve traditional set pair analysis. Combined with the index system, the evaluation model of the environmental impact of dam break is established, which is based on generalized set pair analysis. Taking Sheheji Reservoir dam as an example, a comparison of evaluation results of fuzzy mathematics theory and generalized set pair analysis is made, which verifies the scientificity and practicability of the method proposed in this paper. The results show that the evaluation grade of the environmental impact of dam break at Sheheji Reservoir is serious, and appropriate management measures should be taken to reduce the risk.

scholarly journals Weed Species Diversity in the Czech Republic Under Different Farming and Site Conditions

2015 ◽  
Vol 63 (3) ◽  
pp. 741-749 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michaela Kolářová ◽  
Luděk Tyšer ◽  
Josef Soukup
Keyword(s):  
Czech Republic ◽  
Organic Farming ◽  
Chenopodium Album ◽  
Arable Land ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Weed Species ◽  
Organic Farms ◽  
Standard Size ◽  
The Czech Republic ◽  
Winter Cereals

The aim of this study was to explore the composition of weed vegetation on arable land in selected areas of the Czech Republic and to determine the level of γ-diversity. Our survey was conducted at 27 conventional and 35 organic farms from 2006–2008. In each sampled field, one phytocoenological relevé of a standard size of 100 m2 was recorded in the central part of the field. The species cover was estimated. The total γ-diversity was expressed as the total number of weed species recorded. γ-diversity of different farming systems, altitudes and crops was calculated. Subsequently, the species were divided on the basis of their perenniality. In total, 172 weed species were found – 123 and 162 in conventional and organic farming, respectively. The highest number of species was found in winter cereals and at medium altitudes. Chenopodium album was recorded as the species with the highest constancy in both types of farming. In total, 89 annuals, 17 biennials and 15 perennials were observed in conventional farming, and 109 annuals, 23 biennials, 28 perennials and 2 semiparasitic annuals were found in organic farming.

Nutrient balances and nutrient availability of organic cash crop farms in Austria

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juergen K. Friedel ◽  
Anne Leonhard ◽  
Christopher Schöpf
Keyword(s):  
Organic Farming ◽  
Nutrient Management ◽  
Phosphorus Availability ◽  
Available Phosphorus ◽  
N Fixation ◽  
Nutrient Balances ◽  
Organic Farms ◽  
Cash Crop ◽  
Class B ◽  
Class C

<p>For stockless organic farms an adequate nutrient supply is in many ways a challenge. In order to assess the nutrient management of Austrian organic stockless farms, farm gate-balances for nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus of 15 organic stockless farms located in Austria’s main arable production areas were calculated. Two of the farms were located in Wald- und Mühlviertel (Northern Upper and Lower Austria), two in the Carinthian Basin (Carinthia), two in the Pre-alpine Region (Southern Upper and Lower Austria), two in the South-Eastern Lowlands (Eastern Styria and Burgenland), four in the Marchfeld region (Eastern Lower Austria) and three in the Weinviertel (North-Eastern Lower Austria). The farms were managed according to organic farming guidelines for at least five years at the time of assessment. Nutrient balances were calculated over a period of five years, subtracting all farm outputs (nutrients in sold products) from all farm inputs (seeds and fertilizers, biological N fixation). Yields were assessed in questionnaires from the farmers, nutrient contents were taken from standardized tables.</p><p>Nitrogen balances (n = 14 farms) were -14.6 kg N ha<sup>-1</sup> yr<sup>-1</sup> on average, ranging from -61 to +34 kg N ha<sup>-1</sup> yr<sup>-1</sup>. Nitrogen balances were strongly negative for one farm, slightly negative for 10 farms, even for one farm and slightly positive for 2 farms. Phosphorus balances (n = 15 farms) were -8.3 kg P ha<sup>-1</sup> yr<sup>-1</sup> on average, ranging from -23 to -3 kg P ha<sup>-1</sup> yr<sup>-1</sup>. Phosphorus balances were strongly negative for one farm, slightly negative for 12 farms and even for 2 farms. Potassium balances (n = 15 farms) were -15.6 kg K ha<sup>-1</sup> yr<sup>-1</sup> on average, ranging from -31 to -8 kg K ha<sup>-1</sup> yr<sup>-1</sup>. Potassium balances were slightly negative for 5 farms and even for 10 farms.</p><p>Plant available potassium contents (K<sub>CAL</sub>) on the farm fields ranged from 74 to 378 mg K kg<sup>-1</sup>. Two farms were moderately supplied (class B of the Austrian classification scheme), 10 farms were optimally supplied (class C) and 3 farms were over-supplied (class E). Plant available phosphorus contents (P<sub>CAL</sub>) on the farm fields ranged from 21 to 102 mg P kg<sup>-1</sup>. Two farms were classified as undersupplied (class A), 5 farms were moderately supplied (class B) and 8 farms were optimally supplied (class C).</p><p>Potassium availability and potassium balances on the farms were not correlated (r = 0.192, P = 0.899), phosphorus availability and phosphorus balances neither (r = -0.210, P = 0.881). Potassium and phosphorus availability were not significantly correlated to the duration of organic farming as well.</p><p>Stockless organic farms in Austria are very diverse, concerning their production conditions and nutrient management. The results indicate no adverse short-term effects on soil fertility for most of the farms. In the long term though, nutrient management should be improved to secure yields and to ensure the sustainability on organically managed cash crop farms. Meaningful options are e.g. farm partnerships with fodder-manure exchange and the use of recycled fertilizers like struvite. This, however, requires an adjustment of organic farming guidelines.</p>

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