IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/ags/ijameu/175061.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Measuring agricultural sustainability at the farm-level: A pragmatic approach

Author

Listed:
  • Franks, Jeremy
  • Frater, Poppy

Abstract

With increasing political pressure to produce more food whilst being environmentally and socially considerate, alongside the need to cope with climatic extremes and financial instability, farming needs to become more sustainable. To monitor and improve understanding of sustainable agriculture, farmers will need additional tools to illustrate the impacts of their business decisions. However, current tools to monitor the sustainability of agriculture require measurement of variables that are rarely readily available. Moreover these tools exclude farmers in their development and interpretation. This paper suggests a pragmatic approach to creating a farm-based monitoring tool. We propose that farm-level indices of sustainability are initially based only on data that is readily available. Whilst this would increase its appeal to farmers and therefore participation rates, it may initially have little immediate value as a measure of sustainability. Therefore a ‘design-action-design’ cycle-the basis of adaptive co-management- must be employed to allow the tool to evolve. Starting from this pragmatic, bottom-up perspective, as data collection systems improve, more theoretically driven (i.e. top-down) site-specific variables of sustainability can be included to provide a more comprehensive tool. This paper illustrates the principles involved by (i) calculating a farm-specific composite sustainability index (CSI) for a commercial farm based on readily available data and (ii) emphasising the need to establish better data collection systems.

Suggested Citation

  • Franks, Jeremy & Frater, Poppy, 2013. "Measuring agricultural sustainability at the farm-level: A pragmatic approach," International Journal of Agricultural Management, Institute of Agricultural Management, vol. 2(4), pages 1-19, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:ijameu:175061
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.175061
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/175061/files/207_Franks-Frater.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.22004/ag.econ.175061?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Bohringer, Christoph & Jochem, Patrick E.P., 2007. "Measuring the immeasurable -- A survey of sustainability indices," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 63(1), pages 1-8, June.
    2. Rigby, D. & Caceres, D., 2001. "Organic farming and the sustainability of agricultural systems," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 68(1), pages 21-40, April.
    3. World Commission on Environment and Development,, 1987. "Our Common Future," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780192820808.
    4. Bartelmus, Peter, 1999. "Green accounting for a sustainable economy: Policy use and analysis of environmental accounts in the Philippines," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 29(1), pages 155-170, April.
    5. Franks, Jeremy, 2010. "Boundary organizations for sustainable land management: The example of Dutch Environmental Co-operatives," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(2), pages 283-295, December.
    6. Hani, Fritz & Braga, Francesco S. & Stampfli, Andreas & Keller, Thomas & Fischer, Matthew & Porsche, Hans, 2003. "RISE, a Tool for Holistic Sustainability Assessment at the Farm Level," International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, International Food and Agribusiness Management Association, vol. 6(4), pages 1-13.
    7. Gret-Regamey, Adrienne & Kytzia, Susanne, 2007. "Integrating the valuation of ecosystem services into the Input-Output economics of an Alpine region," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 63(4), pages 786-798, September.
    8. S. lópez-ridaura & H. Keulen & M. Ittersum & P. Leffelaar, 2005. "Multiscale Methodological Framework to Derive Criteria and Indicators for Sustainability Evaluation of Peasant Natural Resource Management Systems," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 7(1), pages 51-69, January.
    9. John P. Reganold & Jerry D. Glover & Preston K. Andrews & Herbert R. Hinman, 2001. "Sustainability of three apple production systems," Nature, Nature, vol. 410(6831), pages 926-930, April.
    10. Izac, A-M. N. & Swift, M. J., 1994. "On agricultural sustainability and its measurement in small-scale farming in sub-Saharan Africa," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 11(2), pages 105-125, November.
    11. Gomez-Limon, Jose Antonio & Riesgo, Laura, 2008. "Alternative Approaches On Constructing A Composite Indicator To Measure Agricultural Sustainability," 107th Seminar, January 30-February 1, 2008, Sevilla, Spain 6489, European Association of Agricultural Economists.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Ryan, Mary & Buckley, Cathal & Dillon, Emma Jane & Donnellan, Trevor & Hanrahan, Kevin & Hennessy, Thia & Moran, Brian, 2014. "The development of farm-level sustainability indicators for Ireland using the Teagasc National Farm Survey," 88th Annual Conference, April 9-11, 2014, AgroParisTech, Paris, France 170501, Agricultural Economics Society.
    2. Azad, M.A. Samad & Ancev, Tihomir, 2020. "Assessing the dynamics of natural capital on farms: A soil natural capital indicator," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 168(C).
    3. Beadle, Brian, 2023. "The design and application of an agricultural sustainability index using item response theory," EconStor Theses, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, number 278112.
    4. Kadir, Kadir & Hasanah, Isnaeni Nur, 2021. "Measurement of Sustainable Agriculture at Household Level: Results of Indonesian Agriculture Integrated Survey (AGRIS) Pilot," MPRA Paper 120697, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 12 Dec 2021.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Paolo Cupo & Rinalda Alberta Di Cerbo, 2016. "The determinants of ranking in sustainable efficiency of Italian farms," RIVISTA DI STUDI SULLA SOSTENIBILITA', FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2016(2), pages 141-159.
    2. Rigby, Dan & Woodhouse, Phil & Young, Trevor & Burton, Michael, 2001. "Constructing a farm level indicator of sustainable agricultural practice," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 39(3), pages 463-478, December.
    3. Agnieszka Wojewódzka-Wiewiórska & Anna Kłoczko-Gajewska & Piotr Sulewski, 2019. "Between the Social and Economic Dimensions of Sustainability in Rural Areas—In Search of Farmers’ Quality of Life," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-26, December.
    4. Shamsheer Haq & Ismet Boz, 2020. "Measuring environmental, economic, and social sustainability index of tea farms in Rize Province, Turkey," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 22(3), pages 2545-2567, March.
    5. Daniela C. Momete, 2016. "Building a Sustainable Healthcare Model: A Cross-Country Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(9), pages 1-15, August.
    6. Ernest Reig‐Martínez & José A. Gómez‐Limón & Andrés J. Picazo‐Tadeo, 2011. "Ranking farms with a composite indicator of sustainability," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 42(5), pages 561-575, September.
    7. 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.
    8. Stylianou, Andreas & Sdrali, Despina & Apostolopoulos, Constantinos D., 2020. "Capturing the diversity of Mediterranean farming systems prior to their sustainability assessment: The case of Cyprus," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 96(C).
    9. Carmen García-Peña & Moneyba González-Medina & Jose Manuel Diaz-Sarachaga, 2021. "Assessment of the Governance Dimension in the Frame of the 2030 Agenda: Evidence from 100 Spanish Cities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(10), pages 1-21, May.
    10. Shelby D. Hunt, 2017. "Strategic marketing, sustainability, the triple bottom line, and resource-advantage (R-A) theory: Securing the foundations of strategic marketing theory and research," AMS Review, Springer;Academy of Marketing Science, vol. 7(1), pages 52-66, June.
    11. Viswanatha Reddy Krishna & Venkatesh Paramesh & Vadivel Arunachalam & Bappa Das & Hosam O. Elansary & Arjun Parab & Dendi Damodar Reddy & K. S. Shashidhar & Diaa O. El-Ansary & Eman A. Mahmoud & Moham, 2020. "Assessment of Sustainability and Priorities for Development of Indian West Coast Region: An Application of Sustainable Livelihood Security Indicators," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(20), pages 1-19, October.
    12. Sulewski, Piotr & Kłoczko-Gajewska, Anna, 2018. "Development of the sustainability index of farms based on surveys and FADN sample," Problems of Agricultural Economics / Zagadnienia Ekonomiki Rolnej 276476, Institute of Agricultural and Food Economics - National Research Institute (IAFE-NRI).
    13. Fang‐Li Ruan & Liang Yan, 2022. "Challenges facing indicators to become a universal language for sustainable urban development," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 30(1), pages 41-57, February.
    14. Yahui Lv & Chao Zhang & Jiani Ma & Wenju Yun & Lulu Gao & Pengshan Li, 2019. "Sustainability Assessment of Smallholder Farmland Systems: Healthy Farmland System Assessment Framework," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(17), pages 1-19, August.
    15. Liu, Xinyu & Liu, Gengyuan & Yang, Zhifeng & Chen, Bin & Ulgiati, Sergio, 2016. "Comparing national environmental and economic performances through emergy sustainability indicators: Moving environmental ethics beyond anthropocentrism toward ecocentrism," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 1532-1542.
    16. Steckel, Jan Christoph & Brecha, Robert J. & Jakob, Michael & Strefler, Jessica & Luderer, Gunnar, 2013. "Development without energy? Assessing future scenarios of energy consumption in developing countries," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 90(C), pages 53-67.
    17. Paula Trivino-Tarradas & Manuel R. Gomez-Ariza & Gottlieb Basch & Emilio J. Gonzalez-Sanchez, 2019. "Sustainability Assessment of Annual and Permanent Crops: The Inspia Model," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-21, January.
    18. Josef-Peter Schöggl & Morgane M. C. Fritz & Rupert J. Baumgartner, 2016. "Sustainability Assessment in Automotive and Electronics Supply Chains—A Set of Indicators Defined in a Multi-Stakeholder Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(11), pages 1-20, November.
    19. Götz Uckert & Frieder Graef & Anja Faße & Ludger Herrmann & Harry Hoffmann & Frederick C. Kahimba & Luitfred Kissoly & Hannes J. König & Christine Lambert & Henry Mahoo & Bashir Makoko & Leon Mrosso &, 2018. "ScalA-FS: expert-based ex-ante assessments of local requirements and success potential of upgrading strategies for improving food security in rural Tanzania," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 10(4), pages 841-858, August.
    20. Bąk Iwona & Cheba Katarzyna, 2018. "An Analysis of Dynamic Changes in Selected Areas of Sustainable Development of the European Union Countries," Folia Oeconomica Stetinensia, Sciendo, vol. 18(1), pages 93-107, June.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ags:ijameu:175061. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: AgEcon Search (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/ifmaaea.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.