Representative Farm-Based Sustainability Assessment of the Organic Sector in Switzerland Using the SMART-Farm Tool

Curran, Michael; Lazzarini, Gianna A.; Baumgart, Lukas; Gabel, Vanessa M.; Blockeel, Johan; Epple, Rolf; Stolze, Matthias; Schader, Christian

doi:10.3389/fsufs.2020.554362

Cited by 13 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 65 publications

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“…Ecosystems and ecolabel had a positive effect on choice, which indicates that farmers prefer to have a good ecosystem with an ecolabel to show the high quality and environmentally friendly vegetable products from their farms. In addition, certifications can inform consumers and other decision-makers about the sustainability performance of consumption choices (Curran et al, 2020). As expected, the variables "long-term health effects" and "IPM training" had a positive influence on farmers' choice.…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 60%

Ecolabeling to Improve Product Quality and Reduce Environmental Impact: A Choice Experiment With Vegetable Farmers in Thailand

Praneetvatakul

Vijitsrikamol

Schreinemachers³

2022

Front. Sustain. Food Syst.

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The overuse of agricultural pesticides creates high costs to ecosystems and human health. One important reason for overuse is that markets in lower-income countries do not sufficiently differentiate agricultural produce based on quality aspects, making it difficult for consumers to select safe produce. Ecolabeling is a voluntary method of certification to gain consumer trust by differentiating produce based on environmental impact. Most studies have looked at consumer preferences for ecolabels, but the preferences of producers to adopt such labels have received much less attention. This paper aims to explore farmers' choice preference for ecolabels, safe pest management methods, human health, and the environment using a choice experiment. We sampled 303 vegetable farmers from three peri-urban provinces of Bangkok, Thailand, namely Ratchaburi, Nakhon Pathom and Pathum Thani provinces. Attributes of pest management methods and outcomes included farm ecosystems, human health, ecolabels, market opportunities, training in integrated pest management, and additional farm cost. A mixed logit model was employed to quantify the effect of each attribute on farmers' preference and marginal willingness to pay for each attribute. The data show high levels of pesticide use in vegetable production as farmers try to protect their investment from a wide range of pests and diseases. Alternative control methods are not widely available and are used in an ad-hoc manner to complement pesticides rather than substitute them. Farmers' willingness to pay for an ecolabel was 222 US$/ha/crop. However, ecolabeling had a lower priority than most other attributes. We conclude that there is a need to promote alternative pest management practices alongside ecolabels to reduce the environmental impact of vegetable farming in peri-urban areas in Thailand.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 60%

Ecolabeling to Improve Product Quality and Reduce Environmental Impact: A Choice Experiment With Vegetable Farmers in Thailand

Praneetvatakul

Vijitsrikamol

Schreinemachers³

2022

Front. Sustain. Food Syst.

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“…With a total amount of 116 default indicators allocated to 21 themes within the four assessment dimensions (encompassing the governance and three sustainability dimensions) the tool offers quantification based on a 0-100% scale allowing to identify the areas of best to unacceptable performance, displayed through the traffic light color system [49]. The framework was used in different studies for assessing sustainability at an operator level as well as the performance of food system governance vis-à-vis sustainability outcomes [50][51][52]. For instance, assessments by Landert et al [50] and Curran et al [52] draw on the SAFA approach aiming at evaluating the performance of urban food systems and farms, correspondingly.…”

Section: Food System Outcomes and Their Role In The Food Systems Tran...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The framework was used in different studies for assessing sustainability at an operator level as well as the performance of food system governance vis-à-vis sustainability outcomes [50][51][52]. For instance, assessments by Landert et al [50] and Curran et al [52] draw on the SAFA approach aiming at evaluating the performance of urban food systems and farms, correspondingly. Finally, Hebinck et al [14] offer a sustainability compass as an assessment tool, enabling to quantify sustainability scores attributed to four societal goals-clean and healthy planet; just, ethical and equitable food systems; healthy, adequate and safe diets for all; economically thriving, robust food value chains.…”

Section: Food System Outcomes and Their Role In The Food Systems Tran...mentioning

confidence: 99%

SDG Performance in Local Organic Food Systems and the Role of Sustainable Public Procurement

Stefanovic

2022

Sustainability

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Alternative food systems have occupied a steady niche in the food systems transformation discourse as one of the transformative pathways capable of addressing many of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Being one of the alternative approaches, organic food systems are often in the spotlight of transformation discussion. While their outcomes and, to a lesser extent, potential to address the SDGs have been documented, the attempts to provide empirical evidence for the latter contribution are largely lacking. The study aimed to close this gap by assessing the performance of SDGs in local organic food systems with the territorial approach. For this purpose, a mixed methods research design and actor-oriented approach have been used. The research employed a multiple-case study design to examine three European territorial organic food systems to uncover their contribution to SDGs and thereby their role in food systems transformation towards enhanced sustainability. Analysis at the target level revealed the central role of SDG 12, responsible consumption and production, addressed by the highest number of targets manifested through corresponding outcomes of all three analyzed case studies. The analyzed systems uncovered a leverage potential of sustainable public procurement to unfold other SDG targets through synergetic interactions of the respective outcomes.

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“…Nevertheless, across all 56 crop-livestock farms regardless of farm type, scores for ecosystem, species and genetic diversity were scored on a low level so that the overall biodiversity theme score was between 38% and 43% (Table 5). Another study, assessing biodiversity on various organic farms (farms with different livestock species, mixed crop-livestock farms and crop farms) in Switzerland found median values within the "Good" category (theme scores were between 61% and 80%) [45]. The lower values found in the present study can be explained by the inclusion of mostly conventional and pig farms of some labels (except organic), many of which have also adopted conventional field management (e.g., use of pesticides).…”

Section: Biodiversity Assessment Based On Key Performance Indicatorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental Sustainability Assessment of Pig Farms in Selected European Countries: Combining LCA and Key Performance Indicators for Biodiversity Assessment

et al. 2021

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The aim of this study was to combine Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) with a Key Performance Indicator (KPI) assessment focusing on biodiversity in order to examine the environmental impacts of different pig farm types (13 breeding, 23 finishing and 27 breeding-to-finishing farms) in seven European countries. In addition, the relationship between environmental impacts and selected farm management characteristics was explored. Fossil energy depletion (FED), global warming (GWP), acidification (AP) as well as marine (MEP) and fresh water (FEP) eutrophication potential were assessed by an attributional LCA and expressed per kilogram body mass net sold (BMNS). In addition, the potential biodiversity performance of all crop-livestock farms within the sample (n = 56) was evaluated with a KPI assessment of biodiversity-related field management characteristics. We found no relationship between LCA results and biodiversity scores (KPI). LCA and biodiversity performance varied more within than across farm types (breeding, finishing, breeding-to-finishing). For example, the GWP expressed per kg BMNS of the breeding unit of breeding-to-finishing farms was on average (median) 2.77 (range: 1.40–4.78) and of breeding farms 2.57 (range: 1.91–3.23) kg CO2-eq. The average (median) biodiversity theme score for breeding farms was 51% (range: 36–70%), for breeding-to-finishing farms 38% (range: 30–68%) and for finishing farms 43% (range: 28–67%). Several farm management characteristics (e.g. FCR, productivity, proportion of solid manure) correlated with all/some LCA results. Biodiversity performance depended especially on KPIs related to ecological focus areas, fertiliser management and GMO crops. The large range regarding environmental performance in both LCA and KPI assessment across farm types indicates that farm-specific improvement measures should be implemented to enhance overall environmental sustainability on farm. In conclusion, combining LCA with KPI assessment provides a more comprehensive environmental impact assessment of pig farms.

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Representative Farm-Based Sustainability Assessment of the Organic Sector in Switzerland Using the SMART-Farm Tool

Cited by 13 publications

References 65 publications

Ecolabeling to Improve Product Quality and Reduce Environmental Impact: A Choice Experiment With Vegetable Farmers in Thailand

Ecolabeling to Improve Product Quality and Reduce Environmental Impact: A Choice Experiment With Vegetable Farmers in Thailand

SDG Performance in Local Organic Food Systems and the Role of Sustainable Public Procurement

Environmental Sustainability Assessment of Pig Farms in Selected European Countries: Combining LCA and Key Performance Indicators for Biodiversity Assessment

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