Project details

Which factors contribute to farmers´ decisions to convert their enterprise to organic farming, and which factors keep them from doing so? The most important influencing factors were identified on the basis of surveys, taking different attributes of farmers as well as agricultural enterprises themselves into account. Institutional, economic, production-technical and sociological factors were considered.

The starting-point for the analyses was the point of view of farmers themselves, because regional starting conditions, type of enterprise, age and gender of the entrepreneur as well as particular forms of households are, amongst others important aspects of the decision making process, as the first examinations demonstrated.

Recommendations relate to an improvement of the framework conditions for a conversion to organic farming. In addition it is asked how a lasting perpetuation of an organic form of farming can be provided for.