Is there a future for organic production in high ecological value ecosystems?

Horrillo, A.; Escribano, M.; Mesías, F.J.; Elghannam, Ahmed; Gaspar, P.

doi:10.1016/j.agsy.2015.12.015

Cited by 23 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…El objetivo es que los productores puedan obtener mayores rendimientos económicos mediante la mejora de la gestión de sus explotaciones y de la comercialización de sus productos. Ambos niveles pueden ser abordados desde la integración de las explotaciones en un sistema cooperativo que pueda hacer frente a la actual situación y mejorar su competitividad (Ruiz et al, 2014), suponiendo además esta integración uno de los aspectos claves para el mantenimiento y viabilidad de los sistemas extensivos (Horrillo et al, 2016).…”

Section: Introductionunclassified

El papel de la gestión cooperativa en la mejora del funcionamiento técnico-económico de explotaciones ovinas

Gaspar¹,

Escribano²,

Pulido³

et al. 2016

ARCH ZOOTEC

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Indicadores productivos. Ovino de carne. España. Análisis técnico-económico. resUMenLas explotaciones ovinas en el SO de España se han visto sometidas en los últimos años a distintas presiones, tanto comerciales por los cambios de consumo como políticas por las diversas reformas de la Política Agraria Comunitaria, que se han traducido en procesos de abandono de la actividad o de intensificación para aquellos ganaderos que se han mantenido en el sector. Estos sistemas, no obstante, son enormemente frágiles, además de tener un papel fundamental en la provisión de servicios ambientales. En este contexto se ha estudiado una muestra de 101 explotaciones ovinas pertenecientes a cooperativas y localizadas en el SO de España analizando indicadores de gestión técnica y económica. Se observa que la integración de las explotaciones en estructuras cooperativas puede mejorar las explotaciones y asegurar la persistencia de las mismas gracias a la provisión de servicios adicionales al ganadero, a la generación de valor añadido y a la estabilidad en los precios percibidos. Sheep farms in SW Spain have been exposed to various pressures derived from changes in the consumption patterns and policy changes linked to several reforms of the Common Agricultural Policy in the last years, which has translated into the abandonment of the farm activity or the intensification process for those farms which have continued in the sector. These systems, however, are extremely fragile, as well as they have a key role in providing environmental services. In this context, we have analyzed a sample of 101 sheep farms belonging to cooperatives and located in Spain SW. Technical and economic indicators related to farm management have been studied. It is noted that the integration of farms into cooperatives can improve farm structure and ensure their persistence, due to the provision of additional services to the farmer, the generation of an added value and an increased price stability. INTRODUCCIÓNEl ovino en España se cría principalmente en sistemas extensivos o semi-extensivos asociado a la explotación de razas autóctonas debido a su buena adaptación a las condiciones ambientales adversas. Es frecuente el aprovechamiento por el ovino de las tierras de pastoreo, así como de diferentes cultivos forrajeros y de cereales de secano.En el centro oeste peninsular, la producción ovina está basada fundamentalmente en un sistema de explotación extensivo, generalmente asociado a zonas poco aprovechadas por el ganado porcino y bovino, siendo frecuente su ubicación en suelos pobres y con escasa o nula presencia de arbolado, como las dehesas poco arboladas y los pastizales de secano. Estas explotaciones en su mayoría se encuentran especializadas en la producción cárnica.El peso del ovino en Extremadura es significativo, con un censo de 3,4 millones de cabezas, lo que representa el 20,7% del censo a nivel nacional (MAGRAMA, 2014). Las sucesivas reformas de la PAC y los continuos cambios en el mercado han conducido a una disminución de la rentabilidad de las expl...

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Section: Introductionunclassified

El papel de la gestión cooperativa en la mejora del funcionamiento técnico-económico de explotaciones ovinas

Gaspar¹,

Escribano²,

Pulido³

et al. 2016

ARCH ZOOTEC

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Group C2 farms, which are forcing less production, are those with the greatest ease of conversion to organic production; but without access to these subsidies and without differentiation in the market, their competitiveness is greatly reduced. There is general agreement between experts that the implementation of specific lines of subsidies encouraging the production of organic livestock in high ecological value ecosystems would be desirable [14]. Therefore, it is essential that, in the meanwhile, C2 farms and other groups can resolve incidents (most of which are bureaucratic) that are impeding the receiving of current subsidies.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In this context, current concern over environmental issues, climate change, food security, and the abandonment of rural areas (which results in a loss of traditional systems of production) causes the administration (environmental and agrarian authorities) to choose to link the future of PNA to sustainable livestock systems, as is the case with organic farming (OF) [3,[11][12][13][14]. Hence, the continuity of traditional pastoral systems and agroforestry are key to the sustainability of these rural areas [3].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Typological Characterization of Organic Livestock Farms in the Natural Park Sierra de Grazalema Based on Technical and Economic Variables

et al. 2019

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This paper describes the typological characterization of the Natural Park Sierra de Grazalema (NPSG) livestock farms using its communal pastures (N = 23, 100% of population) in order to study their sustainability from 160 technical, economic and social variables (from direct on-farm data collection). A principal components analysis (PCA) produced four principal components related to size, livestock species, main productions and intensification level, explaining 73.6% of the variance. The subsequent cluster analysis classified the farms into four groups: C1 (medium size farms without sheep), C2 (large size and very extensive farms), C3 (farms with multipurpose sheep) and C4 (farms with dairy goat and without cattle). Forty-eight-point-seven percent of the surface was registered as organic but none of the farms’ commercialized products were organic. C2 and C3 (both having three ruminant species) are those farms that have more economic differences, the former generating the lowest profit, and the latter generating the highest; however, there is a risk to grasslands conservation from the current tendency that leads dairy farms to rapid intensification. Nevertheless, the very extensive farms are the most interesting for NPSG conservation and the administration should help to maintain the profitability of this sustainable traditional activity, which is necessary to conserve communal pastures.

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“…This methodology was created and validated as a result of a doctoral study on the farm (Casimiro Rodríguez, 2016). In consultation with a panel of experts we used the Delphi methodology (Horrillo et al, 2016) and different statistical tools that validated and made this method realiable (see details in Casimiro Rodríguez, 2016). The weight of each indicator in the calculation of the corresponding index and the scale that analyzes the value for that mathematical calculation was also determined ( Table 2).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

How to make prosperous and sustainable family farming in Cuba a reality

Rodríguez

González

2018

Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene

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A number of factors in Cuba today contribute to the urgent need to develop family farming based on agroecological practices across the island. These factors include: soil deterioration, high external dependenceforinputsandfood,damagingeffectsofclimatechange,lossoffarmertraditions,andthe next generation's disinterest in a farming lifestyle, coupled with the essential contribution that family farmingmakestosupplyingfoodforthecountry,ofteninsmallspaces,togetheroffertherealpossibility of repairing the damage caused by conventional farming practices. Given this urgent need and possibility, it is important to identify and share successful experiences built on innovative practices. The study presented here aims to do just that by sharing the experiences of a farm representative of the cooperative sector in Cuba. This is a longitudinal study of the agroecological transition that occurred in one farm's socio-ecological system between 1995 and 2015. In particular, the study evaluates the socio-ecological resilienceofthefamilyfarmduringthreeperiodsoftransition,whichareconsiderablydifferentfromone another given the strategies of the family and the design and management of the socio-ecological system.Wedefinesocio-ecologicalresilienceasthecapacityofagroecosystemstoadaptivelychangeinits socio-ecological structure and interactions in order to withstand and overcome disturbances, stress and change, and to maintain production levels in harmony with the culture, social organization, and satisfaction of the needs and capacity of ecosystems, in an ecologically possible and socially desirable context Casimiro Rodríguez, 2016;Koohafkan et al., 2011). We used the Evaluation Methodology of the Socio-ecological Resilience of family farms (MERS in its Spanish acronym) (Casimiro Rodríguez, 2016),basedontheevolutionofanarrayofindicatorsofefficiencyandindexesoffood,technological and energy sovereignty, as well as from the transformation process from conventional farming practices to agroecological practices. Based on the results of the study, we show a set of elements that address the need to transform Cuban agriculture by implementing an agroecological base, the importance of family farming, as well as aspects that can come into play in the socio-ecological resilience of other family farms in the country. Please refer to Supplementary Materials, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1525/elementa.324.s1, for a full text Spanish version of this article.Bajo la situación actual en el país con el deterioro de los suelos, la dependencia externa, los efectos del cambio climático, la pérdida de tradiciones campesinas, el desarraigo y desinterés de los jóvenes por hacer vida agrícola, unido a la participación de la agricultura familiar en el abastecimiento de alimentos en el país y el aprovechamiento de los pequeños espacios, la posibilidad real de resarcir los daños causados por la práctica de la agricultura convencional, entre otros, son elementos que demandan en Cuba, el desarrollo deunaagriculturafamiliarsobrebasesagroecológicas.Loanteriorresaltalaimportanc...

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Is there a future for organic production in high ecological value ecosystems?

Cited by 23 publications

References 36 publications

El papel de la gestión cooperativa en la mejora del funcionamiento técnico-económico de explotaciones ovinas

El papel de la gestión cooperativa en la mejora del funcionamiento técnico-económico de explotaciones ovinas

A Typological Characterization of Organic Livestock Farms in the Natural Park Sierra de Grazalema Based on Technical and Economic Variables

How to make prosperous and sustainable family farming in Cuba a reality

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