Assessing the Sustainability Performance of Organic and Low-Input Conventional Farms from Eastern Poland with the RISE Indicator System

Abstract

Abstract:The aim of this study was to examine the sustainability performance of organic and low-input conventional farms with the sustainability assessment tool-RISE 3.0. It is an indicator-based method for holistic assessment of sustainability of agricultural production at farm level. Ten organic and 10 conventional farms from eastern Poland, Lublin province were assessed. According to the thresholds levels of the RISE method, organic farms performed positively for 7 out of 10 themes, while the values of the other 3 topics, biodiversity, working conditions, and economic viability, were at medium level. Conventional farms reached positive scores for 9 out of 10 themes. The only middle-performing theme was biodiversity. None of the two farm types had the lowest, problematic scores for examined themes. For the theme biodiversity and two indicators (greenhouse gas balance and intensity of agricultural production), significant differences between farming systems were found. Biodiversity performance, an important indicator of sustainability, estimated with the RISE system, was highly correlated with measured on-field weed flora and Orthoptera biodiversity of farms. High soil acidity and low crop productivity, improper weed regulation, and energy management were the most common problems in both types of farms. Working hours and wage and income levels were also assessed as being low. Recommendations to improve the sustainability of both organic and conventional farms are presented.

Efficiency and Sustainability in Farm Diversification Initiatives in Northern Spain

“…Empirical evidence is necessary to support the statement that "diversification and economies of scope contribute significantly to more resilient pathways of development" [1]. This is essential for the formulation of precise and non-generalist policies, which is especially relevant in contexts where there may be some conflict or tradeoff between the objective of economic profitability and other (non-economic) sustainability criteria [14,20,[22][23][24]. In this setting there are few studies that have analyzed the relationship between efficiency and sustainability [15,25] and this paper aims to contribute to this area of the literature.…”

Avenues for improving farming sustainability assessment with upgraded tools, sustainability framing and indicators. A review

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Assessing the Social and Economic Benefits of Organic Agriculture Conversion

“…Existing literature suggested that organic agriculture practices result in wide range of benefits. Studies of Lobley & Potter (2004), Zulfiqar & Thapa (2017), Berbeć et al (2018) suggested that organic agriculture improved environmental benefits, social and economic benefits, as well as increasing regional economies. • Japan organic agriculture practices is dominated by large-scale organic farmers and producers • Government has strict certification law under the Japanese Standard Law for domestic and export market • Organic retail prices are higher than conventional product by 15-20 percent • Japan's organic retail prices were competitive with China, United…”