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Organic agriculture values and practices in Portugal and Italy

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  • Dinis, Isabel
  • Ortolani, Livia
  • Bocci, Riccardo
  • Brites, Cláudia

Abstract

Most definitions of organic farming emphasise a holistic approach that combines quality production with sustainable practices and positive impact on resource conservation, biodiversity and animal welfare. Its founding values were also connected to small-scale production, minimisation of external inputs use, diversification and short market circuits. In the last two decades, organic farming has grown very rapidly, resulting in the subordination of its values to market forces. There has been a greater specialisation, an increase of scale, the involvement of large multinational corporations and the inclusion in global trade. This conventionalisation process and the connected certification standards, primarily focussed on banning the use of pesticides and chemical fertilisers, may weaken the vision of organic farming as a more sustainable alternative to conventional farming.

Suggested Citation

  • Dinis, Isabel & Ortolani, Livia & Bocci, Riccardo & Brites, Cláudia, 2015. "Organic agriculture values and practices in Portugal and Italy," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 136(C), pages 39-45.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:agisys:v:136:y:2015:i:c:p:39-45
    DOI: 10.1016/j.agsy.2015.01.007
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    5. Jennifer A. Ball, 2020. "Women farmers in developed countries: a literature review," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 37(1), pages 147-160, March.
    6. Alon Tal, 2018. "Making Conventional Agriculture Environmentally Friendly: Moving beyond the Glorification of Organic Agriculture and the Demonization of Conventional Agriculture," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-17, April.
    7. Marilena Gemtou & Konstantina Kakkavou & Evangelos Anastasiou & Spyros Fountas & Soren Marcus Pedersen & Gohar Isakhanyan & Kassa Tarekegn Erekalo & Serafin Pazos-Vidal, 2024. "Farmers’ Transition to Climate-Smart Agriculture: A Systematic Review of the Decision-Making Factors Affecting Adoption," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(7), pages 1-34, March.
    8. Unay-Gailhard, İlkay & Bojnec, Štefan, 2021. "Gender and the environmental concerns of young farmers: Do young women farmers make a difference on family farms?," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 88, pages 71-82.
    9. Schulz, Dario & Börner, Jan, 2021. "Context and Technology Traits Explain Heterogeneity Across Adoption Studies of Agricultural Innovations: A Global Meta-Analysis," 2021 Conference, August 17-31, 2021, Virtual 315003, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    10. Feliu López-i-Gelats & Jordi Bartolomé Filella, 2020. "Examining the role of organic production schemes in Mediterranean pastoralism," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 22(6), pages 5771-5792, August.
    11. Jennifer Hayden & Sarah Rocker & Hannah Phillips & Bradley Heins & Andrew Smith & Kathleen Delate, 2018. "The Importance of Social Support and Communities of Practice: Farmer Perceptions of the Challenges and Opportunities of Integrated Crop–Livestock Systems on Organically Managed Farms in the Northern U," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-26, December.
    12. Unay-Gailhard, Ilkay & Bojnec, Štefan, 2021. "Young Farmers' Attitudes Towards Agri-Environmental-Climate Measures: Do Young Women Farmers Make a Difference?," 2021 Conference, August 17-31, 2021, Virtual 315374, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    13. Mahmoud Tarhini, 2022. "Consumption and Consumer Behaviour of Organic AGRI-FOOD Products," REVISTA DE MANAGEMENT COMPARAT INTERNATIONAL/REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL COMPARATIVE MANAGEMENT, Faculty of Management, Academy of Economic Studies, Bucharest, Romania, vol. 23(1), pages 136-149, March.

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