Full text search:
Description of the project Socio-economic impacts of organic farming in terms of its contributions to rural development: Case studies in different regions of Germany The characteristics of organic farming vary substantially among different regions in Germany. The same applies to the linkages between organic farms and up- and downstream businesses. For that reason organic farming causes different effects on regional economies. The project dealt with the question of the particular strengths and weaknesses of organic farming with regard to the development of rural areas. The focus was on differential impacts of organic farming on value added, income and employment. Conventional farming served as a reference system. Impacts were estimated quantitatively for the case study regions. Overall – regarding status quo analysis and scenario-based analyses – no increase in direct and induced income effects was found in connection with a conversion to organic farming. Even multiplying effects turned out to be low in comparison to conventional systems. However: In the southern Schwaebisch Hall district the economic multiplier values have been significantly higher than in the other regions. Organic and conventional farming systems reached the same value. Both sectors strengthen the economic rural development equally. The significantly higher multiplier value seems to be due to the on average higher net farm household incomes, the more intensive land use patterns and the much more pronounced regional level linkages between farms and up- and downstream businesses. The absence of advantages of organic systems was a rather unexpected result. We try to explain this phenomenon with respect to the structure of the organic farming sector, the on average larger farms, the higher efficiency of labour inputs, and the more advanced optimisation of farm management. The density of organic farms is low and distances between farms and up- and downstream businesses are large. Business relations tend to cross district boundaries: As long as the proportion of organic farms is so low it is not worthwhile to have specialized local up- and downstream businesses. Methodological problems are identified as well: If the spatial system boundaries are enlarged in the indepth case study for a rural and an urban area (‘Vogelsberg’, ‘Rhein-Main’) we were able to account for business relations and chains that cross administrative boundaries (NUTS 3). Possible improvements in the methodological approach conclude the study. The research project was carried out in co-operation with the Institute for Organic Agriculture of the Universität für Bodenkultur (BOKU) Vienna and the University of Wales, Welsh Institute of Rural Studies (Aberystwyth, UK). Contact person at the IfLS: Karlheinz Knickel Client: Federal Ministry of Consumer Protection, Food and Agriculture (BMVEL)