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Towards Measurement of Farm Sustainability - an Irish case study

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  • Dillon, Emma J.
  • Hennessy, Thia C.
  • Hynes, Stephen

Abstract

Sustainability Indicators (economic, environmental and social) are developed here using Irish National Farm Survey (FADN) data over a ten-year period (1996-2006) in an attempt to measure the sustainability of Irish agriculture at the farm-level. The general concept of sustainability is discussed and the development of agricultural sustainability indicators in an Irish context described. Individual indicators are dealt with in turn and the RERC SMILE (microsimulation) model is used to demonstrate how these indicators can be mapped at electoral division level. Economic viability was found to be generally in decline over the ten-year period examined, however, when individual farming systems were taken into account, some were found to perform better than others. Unsurprisingly the more intensive farming systems (primarily dairy) were found to pollute more on average. Irish agriculture is experiencing a period of fundamental change, not least in terms of the ever-changing rural demographic; the challenge therefore lies in ensuring that farms remain economically, environmentally and socially sustainable in the long-term.

Suggested Citation

  • Dillon, Emma J. & Hennessy, Thia C. & Hynes, Stephen, 2009. "Towards Measurement of Farm Sustainability - an Irish case study," 2009 Conference, August 16-22, 2009, Beijing, China 51786, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:iaae09:51786
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.51786
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    Cited by:

    1. Ranjan Roy & Ngai Weng Chan, 2012. "An assessment of agricultural sustainability indicators in Bangladesh: review and synthesis," Environment Systems and Decisions, Springer, vol. 32(1), pages 99-110, March.
    2. Micha, Evgenia & Heanue, Kevin, 2015. "Profiling farm systems according to their sustainable performance: the Irish livestock sector," 89th Annual Conference, April 13-15, 2015, Warwick University, Coventry, UK 204216, Agricultural Economics Society.
    3. Mohamed Rafik N. Qureshi & Ram Karan Singh & Mohd. Abul Hasan, 2018. "Decision support model to select crop pattern for sustainable agricultural practices using fuzzy MCDM," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 20(2), pages 641-659, April.

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