scholarly journals Can the Market Deliver 100% Organic Seed and Varieties in Europe?

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (18) ◽  
pp. 10305
Author(s):  
Susanne Padel ◽  
Stefano Orsini ◽  
Francesco Solfanelli ◽  
Raffaele Zanoli
Keyword(s):  
Organic Farming ◽  
Supply And Demand ◽  
Status Quo ◽  
Limited Capacity ◽  
Forage Crops ◽  
Technical Problems ◽  
Seed Supply ◽  
Lack Of Information ◽  
Seed Market ◽  
Farmer Survey

This paper considers European organic seed as a market in the sense of economic theory and explores factors impacting seed supply and demand. Under the organic regulation, farmers have to use seed multiplied in organic farming or apply for a derogation. We evaluated the functioning of the organic seed market, based on case studies of seed supply chains for arable, vegetable and forage crops; a farmer survey; and a status-quo analysis of the organic seed sector from the European LIVESEED project. The organic seed market is characterised by small size, great diversity of crops grown, unsolved technical problems for some crops and limited capacity of breeding varieties adapted to organic farming conditions. Demand vastly outstrips supply for most crops, but strong regional and sector differences were observed. A lack of information about availability and price for organic seed is likely to act as barrier to investment. Full enforcement of the regulation to use only organic seed might have unforeseen consequences, such as a reduction of agrobiodiversity in organic farming, rather than supporting an increase in supply. We conclude that the market alone is not likely to deliver 100% organic seed and government intervention is justified.

Synchronization of transport and supply in beach-dune interaction

2009 ◽  
Vol 33 (6) ◽  
pp. 733-746 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris Houser
Keyword(s):  
Sediment Supply ◽  
Limited Capacity ◽  
Storm Events ◽  
Nearshore Processes ◽  
Transport Studies ◽  
Lack Of Information ◽  
Dynamic Constraint ◽  
Explicit Recognition ◽  
Process Scale

This review considers the role of nearshore processes and morphological change as a flexible and dynamic constraint on the supply and transport of sediment between beach and dune. It is argued that the lack of information in this regard remains a central barrier to the development of a theory of beach-dune interaction that can be translated across scales and between field sites. Existing beach-dune models do not consider how and when sediment gets transferred to the backshore where it becomes available for transport by wind. Rather, existing models largely ascribe regional variations in dune morphology to fixed constraints on beach slope and sediment budget, without explicit recognition of processes involved. Recent (process-scale) transport studies have shown that the transfer of sediment is both spatially variable and temporally intermittent as a result of transport limitations across the beachface. While these studies have identified varied controls on sediment transport and exchange, there remains a limited capacity to predict the evolution of beach-dune systems, largely because the beachface tends to be viewed as a static transport surface without regard to supply or to the changing limits to transport. Following storm erosion, dune recovery first requires that the beach recovers through the onshore migration and welding of nearshore bars, followed by accretion in the backshore to create a supply of sediment for transport by the wind. The dependence of dune recovery on the synchronization of transport events with the recovery of sediment supply in the backshore creates a strong asymmetry in dune recovery that makes barrier island susceptible to widespread erosion and breaching if a change in the frequency or grouping of storm events is capable of resetting the bar system (offshore) before the next extreme storm.

Wildlife and Farming: Towards a Reconciliation

1996 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-17
Author(s):  
R. Thornton Smith ◽  
M. A. Atherden ◽  
S. R. Eyre
Keyword(s):  
Community Participation ◽  
Organic Farming ◽  
Industrial Revolution ◽  
Status Quo ◽  
Ecological Approach ◽  
Agricultural Systems ◽  
The Status ◽  
Environmental Measures ◽  
Organic Produce ◽  
The Relationship

Aside from the views of pioneer thinkers and romantics, perception of the relationship between agriculture and the countryside by the general public has changed this century from acceptance of the status quo, to increasing consciousness of environmental problems. Recent global and European initiatives now form the basis of a strengthened package of anti-surplus and agri-environmental measures, which give some support to the enhancement of biodiversity, for instance by the redesign of fields. More fundamentally, there needs to be a more ecological approach to agricultural systems, and in particular a shift towards organic farming. Prospects for the latter must depend on an increased market share for home-grown organic produce, while both organic farming and wildlife initiatives will in the longer term depend on wider community participation, thus reversing a trend set at the start of the Industrial Revolution.

scholarly journals Political games of attack and defence

2021 ◽  
Vol 376 (1822) ◽  
pp. 20200135 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carsten K. W. De Dreu ◽  
Ruthie Pliskin ◽  
Michael Rojek-Giffin ◽  
Zsombor Méder ◽  
Jörg Gross
Keyword(s):  
Political Change ◽  
Status Quo ◽  
Limited Capacity ◽  
Costs And Benefits ◽  
Form And Function ◽  
Political Conflicts ◽  
And Function ◽  
Asymmetric Game ◽  
Conflict Intensity

Political conflicts often revolve around changing versus defending a status quo . We propose to capture the dynamics between proponents and opponents of political change in terms of an asymmetric game of attack and defence with its equilibrium in mixed strategies. Formal analyses generate predictions about effort expended on revising and protecting the status quo , the form and function of false signalling and cheap talk, how power differences impact conflict intensity and the likelihood of status quo revision. Laboratory experiments on the neurocognitive and hormonal foundations of attack and defence reveal that out-of-equilibrium investments in attack emerge because of non-selfish preferences, limited capacity to compute costs and benefits and optimistic beliefs about the chances of winning from one's rival. We conclude with implications for the likelihood of political change and inertia, and discuss the role of ideology in political games of attack and defence. This article is part of the theme issue ‘The political brain: neurocognitive and computational mechanisms’.

scholarly journals Factors that Impact Farmers’ Organic Conversion Decisions

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 4715
Author(s):  
Philippos Karipidis ◽  
Sotiria Karypidou
Keyword(s):  
Organic Farming ◽  
Technology Use ◽  
Holistic Approach ◽  
Economic Incentives ◽  
Farm Size ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Product Price ◽  
Public Authorities ◽  
Technical Problems ◽  
Product Demand

This article helps to answer the question of how the diffusion of organic farming could be accelerated by analyzing farmers’ decisions. Given the fragmentation of the research findings, the determinants of farmers’ organic conversion decisions were integrated into a framework that enables a holistic approach to be adopted in research and policy scheduling. The most important factors of the external farm environment are the organic product demand, product price, access to markets, available technologies, education, knowledge transfer, peer networks, society’s attitudes, and subsidy provision. The most important farm characteristics are the farm’s location, farm size, enterprise, expected costs, profits, knowledge, information and communication technology use, farmers’ age, education, gender, off-farm activities, attitudes, and beliefs regarding organic farming and willingness to preserve the environment. Of particular importance are farmers’ satisfaction with economic incentives, the perception of technical problems, and the certification process. Such comprehensive information enables public authorities to bring about changes in the most important factors that effectively accelerate organic conversion decisions and to assess policy implementation. The market participants are facilitated to implement eco-strategies by encouraging farmers to decide to convert. Future research should broaden the sets of factors that are explored, taking into consideration the interactions and time-dependent changes that exist.

scholarly journals Organic farming brand identity : meeting trends, building trust

2009 ◽  
pp. 263 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Maria Nikodemska-Wolowik
Keyword(s):  
Organic Farming ◽  
Significant Role ◽  
Market Competition ◽  
Supply And Demand ◽  
Strong Relationship ◽  
Brand Identity ◽  
Building Trust ◽  
Main Target ◽  
Points Of View ◽  
Certification Mark

The Organic Farming (OF) concept plays a significant role in contemporary market competition in European and other economies. This issue is the main target of the paper. The OF certification mark is dealt with as a specific brand and its meaning is presented from different points of view. The author puts special emphasis on creating customer benefits and trust due to the OF certification mark. The mark can become an effective tool of building strong relationship between supply and demand sides of the market.<br /><br />El concepto de Agricultura Ecológica (AE) tiene un papel importante en la competencia del mercado contemporáneo tanto en la economía europea como en la de otros países. Este aspecto es el objetivo principal de este artículo. La certificación de AE se considera como marca específica y su significado se presenta desde diferentes perspectivas. El autor centra su atención en la creación del beneficio del consumidor y confianza debido a la certificación de marca de AL Ésta puede convertirse en una herramienta efectiva para la creación de una estrecha relación entre la oferta y la demanda del mercado.

scholarly journals The electricity supply industry in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

2006 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 21-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
J M Lukamba-Muhiya ◽  
E Uken
Keyword(s):  
Rural Areas ◽  
Democratic Republic ◽  
Supply And Demand ◽  
Electricity Sector ◽  
Policy Framework ◽  
Electricity Supply ◽  
Technical Problems ◽  
Electricity Supply Industry ◽  
Supply Industry ◽  
The Government

The electricity supply industry of the Democratic Republic of Congo is reviewed, from the formation of the Societé National d’Electricité (SNEL) in 1970 until today. The DRC government established a national utility, because electricity is a key element in the socio -economic development of a country. Due to the national monopoly of SNEL, hydropower plants could be constructed such as Inga1 and Inga2. They supply power to mining in the Katanga province, and to a steel company in Maluku, not far from Kinshasa. Currently, Inga1 and Inga 2 are not operating at full capacity. Many hydropower and thermal plants are located in different provinces and need to be refurbished to increase their capacity of electricity for the DRC. Due to technical problems, SNEL only generates 1150 MW. The electrification programme in urban and rural areas across the DRC caters for less than 10% of the 60 million inhabitants. In 1980, the government implemented a policy called Plan Directeur de SNEL for electrification, but the policies never reached their objectives. No Energy White Paper exists which outlines the entire policy framework for energy supply and demand. Power sector reform has also not been implemented in the electricity sector. This paper outlines future government options in the electricity sector. Accordingly, the Public Private Partnership model could play a major role in attracting private partners to invest in the electricity sector in order to have different hydropower and thermal plants refurbished.

scholarly journals Ecological stability of broad bean (Vicia faba L.) in organic farming conditions

2020 ◽  
Vol 23 (8) ◽  
pp. 981-992
Author(s):  
N. A. Georgieva ◽  
V. I. Kosev
Keyword(s):  
Organic Farming ◽  
Seed Weight ◽  
Quantitative Traits ◽  
Broad Bean ◽  
Seed Mass ◽  
Environment Interaction ◽  
Ecological Stability ◽  
Forage Crops ◽  
Stability Parameters ◽  
Genotype Environment Interaction

The main direction in the breeding of legumes is the development of high-productive cultivars with stable yields. In order to assess the ecological stability of 17 broad bean accessions (Fb 1896, Fb 1903, Fb 1929, Fb 2481, Fb 2486, Fb 3270, BGE 002106, BGE 029055, BGE 032012, BGE 041470, BGE 043776, BGE 046721, FbH 13, FbH 14, FbH 15, FbH 16, BGP) with regard to key quantitative traits, a field experiment was conducted in the Institute of Forage Crops (Pleven) in 2016–2018. Plants were grown under organic farming conditions without the use of fertilizers or pesticides. Three types of stability parameters were calculated based on regression, variance, and nonparametric analysis. The results of the variance analysis showed a significant genotype × environment interaction for all quantitative traits except pod width. The factor ‘environment’ had the greatest impact on the phenotypic manifestation of the traits, followed by the factors ‘genotype’ and ‘genotype × environment interaction’. In terms of plant height and 1st pod height, accessions FbH 16 and FbH 13 can be classified as high (79 cm, 35 cm) and ecologically stable (bi = 0.76, bi = 0.79). BGE 029055 was little variable and had high numbers of pods (15) and seeds (41) per plant. Accessions FbH 14, FbH 16, FbH 15, and BGP were distinguished by high seed weight per plant (from 28.36 to 34.93 g), but they exhibited instability (bi > 1) under unfavorable environmental conditions. In contrast, Fb 1903, BGE 043776, and Fb 3270 were very stable (bi < 1) but low-productive. Accessions Fb 1896, Fb 1929, Fb 2481, Fb 2486, BGE 002106, and BGE 029055 showed intermediate parameters, as they had the coefficient of linear regression close to 1, but they were also low-productive. BGE 041470 appeared to be of special interest for breeding. It had high values of 100 seed mass (101.38 g) and seed weight per plant (32.14 g), being relatively stable (bi = 1.10). GGE biplot analysis determined accessions BGE 046721, BGE 032012, FbH 15 and FbH 16 as a promising breeding material combining high and stable seed yield.

scholarly journals ANOXIC DEPRESSION OF SPONTANEOUS LOCOMOTOR ACTIVITY IN CRUCIAN CARP QUANTIFIED BY A COMPUTERIZED IMAGING TECHNIQUE

1993 ◽  
Vol 180 (1) ◽  
pp. 153-162 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. E. Nilsson ◽  
P. R. Rosen ◽  
D. Johansson
Keyword(s):  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Locomotor Activity ◽  
Swimming Speed ◽  
Crucian Carp ◽  
Imaging Techniques ◽  
Spontaneous Locomotor Activity ◽  
Energy Budgets ◽  
Total Energy Consumption ◽  
Technical Problems ◽  
Lack Of Information

The crucian carp (Carassius carassius L.) is one of the most anoxia-tolerant fishes. An important strategy used by the crucian carp to survive anoxia is to lower its rate of energy consumption. Anoxia- tolerant fish are known to utilize simultaneously two different strategies for reducing energy consumption during anoxia, the first being a reduction in locomotor activity and the second being a depression of cellular energy demands. Nevertheless, the reduction in locomotor activity during anoxia has never been measured quantitatively. This lack of information is apparently because technical problems have prevented the measurement of spontaneous locomotor activity in fish. It is now possible to use computerized video-imaging techniques to record the movement of an animal continuously. By the use of such a technique, we show that crucian carp respond to anoxia (330 min at 9°C) by rapidly decreasing their locomotor activity (spontaneous swimming distance) to about 50 % of that displayed during normoxia. Frequency diagrams of spontaneous swimming speed showed no bimodality and indicated a general decrease in swimming speed from a median value of 1.82 m min-1 during normoxia to 0.82 m min-1 during anoxia. It is tentatively estimated that the anoxic depression of locomotor activity corresponds to a 35–40 % reduction in total energy consumption. The role of locomotor activity in fish energy budgets is discussed.

PPP – policies, practices and problems in Ghana's urban water supply

Water Policy ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 169-192 ◽  
Author(s):  
Veronika Fuest ◽  
Stefan A. Haffner
Keyword(s):  
Water Supply ◽  
Supply And Demand ◽  
Private Investment ◽  
Urban Water ◽  
Urban Water Supply ◽  
Water Sector ◽  
External Donor ◽  
Technical Problems ◽  
Economic Trends ◽  
The Government

Since the beginning of the 1990s, comprehensive reforms of the Ghanaian water sector were initiated by the Bretton Woods Institutions. The Government of Ghana was obliged to restructure the sector by establishing regulatory bodies, opening the sector to private sector participation and separating responsibilities for urban water supply from rural water supply. The parastatal Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) was created to be solely in charge of urban water supply. In spite of external assistance, GWCL continued to suffer from massive financial, managerial and technical problems. The gap between supply and demand increased while demand for potable water in the cities was on the rise and the supply systems were degenerating. In order to introduce greater efficiency, two options for public–private partnerships (PPP) were developed and contested, over a period of 10 years. At first private companies were invited to take over the GWCL by a lease contract. Numerous factors, among them a massive anti-privatisation campaign and global economic trends unfavourable to private investment, particularly in the water sector, caused a comprehensive revision of the policy and the modification of the PPP programme from lease to short-term management contract with an ensuing affermage concession in 2004. This process was to be supported by external donor agencies substantially upgrading the water supply infrastructure. However, it seemed doubtful if the recent policy would lead to a sustainable system of urban water supply and substantial improvements in the supply situation of the poor. Patronage relations were not sufficiently addressed and alternative PPP options based on local potential had not been considered. The case of Ghana raises issues of imposed PPP policies that are not based on adequate information about local, national and international framework conditions.

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