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All presentations for the congress have been stored in the Organic Eprints international open access archive. In the table below you can extract title, authors, abstract and presentation type to get an overview of the papers presented at the congress. To find the full text of the papers, please select, Go to complete papers for this theme to find a list of papers for a theme, or, Go to paper to find the metadata summary page for a single paper. |
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| Title | Authors | Summary of shortpapers for the Joint Organic Congress, 2006 Theme 1: Research in sustainable systems |
Paper or Poster |
| A territorial approach to organic farming: the case of eco-regions in Austria | Schermer, Markus | The ongoing changes from an agricultural to a rural society require from farmers to define their position new. Organic agriculture provides a value system which is well accepted by non-agricultural rural stakeholders and can therefore be a potential starting point for territorial sustainable development. In Aus-tria the approach of eco-regions (Bioregioen) provides such an approach. The paper gives some preliminary results on the preconditions necessary for the establishment of such an approach building on the results of an ongoing national project. Furthermore different strategies how to position the organic agenda within the framework of various regional development strategies are discussed. | paper |
| Agroecology Education and Research: An Academic Platform for Organic Farming | Francis, Charles and Breland, Tor Arvid and Lieblein, Geir and Moulton, Mike and Salomonsson, Lennart and Geber, Ulrika and Langer, Vibeke and Sriskandarajah, N. and Porter, John and Helenius, Juha | Agroecology education and research programs are gaining prominence in universities. This emerging field provides an appropriate and convenient platform for bringing organic farming into academia. Agroecology deals with complex systems, uncertainty, and the future. Examples from organic farming and local food systems often provide valuable examples of applications of the principles of ecology in designing a sustainable agriculture. The agroecology MSc program in the NOVA network is a successful example of how organic farming can be brought into university programs, and how interdisciplinary education and research can tap into a regional faculty in agriculture. | paper |
| BIOM, Organic farmers network for Research, Development and Innovation | Sukkel, Wijnand and van Leeuwen Haagsma, Wiepie and van der Wel, Cees | Farmers networks are a valuable instrument for research, development and innovation in organic agriculture. The last 15 years networks of pilot farms have been used in the Netherlands to improve farm performance for integrated and organic farming. For organic agriculture the BIOM network was set up in 1998. Participating farmers improved their farm performance amongst others by a decrease of the hand labour for weed control and a reduction of the nutrient surpluses. The network also functioned as a facility for on-farm research on various topics. Additional effects of the close contacts between par-ticipants were a closer cooperation between farmers and an incentive for innovation | paper |
| Development of organic farming in distant rural Maori communities in New Zealand | Kerckhoffs, LHJ (Huub) | Abstract - A unique programme was initiated between scientists and distant rural Māori communities in New Zealand’s East Coast to help these communities with the transition from extensive agriculture to intensive organic horticulture. Through intensive collaboration and interaction with local organic Māori growers (organised within a growers’ trust), scientific, educa-tional and extension services have been provided to develop and implement best organic vegetable grow-ing practices. Initial topics were soil (fertility) and weed management, and these were illustrated in a range of workshops, fieldwalks and fieldtrials. | paper |
| Dutch stakeholders set the organic research agenda | Meijs, J.A.C. and Teenstra, E.D. and Regouin, E.J.M. | Organic research in the Netherlands is strongly demand/market driven. The Ministry provides most of the necessary funds and the organic sector decides on how and where to spend it, with the restriction that the generated knowledge has to contribute to government policy objectives. The organic stakeholders are convinced that an intensive interaction between funding body, research institutes and the organic sector is necessary and essential for providing research results that are truly useful for farmers, trade and retail. This interaction is formalised in a network called Bioconnect. The ultimate aim is that each project is initiated, assessed, prioritized, and supervised with representatives of the organic sector. Decision making on research subjects and priority setting takes place at two levels: a detailed level with 15 working groups and a board level with the Knowledge committee for organic farming and food. | paper |
| Facing the organic reality : the diversity of development models and their consequences on research policies | Sylvander, Bertil and Bellon, Stephane and Benoit, Marc | While OF&F specificity or diversity are acknowledged in many studies, the process of selecting development models is still a pending issue. Based on literature review and our experience, we propose a comprehensive description of such models. Two main axes determine four models. The first axis refers to governance patterns, whether individual or collective. The second one opposes means-based OF to system redesign. Four models are then described, and potential transitions among them are discussed. The role and nature of public policies likely to support candidate models is finally examined. On this basis, this paper intends to openly lay down the stakes of a public research policy for OF&F. As the current poli-cies generally consider implicitly OF&F as an homoge-nous entity, the authors emphasize it’s the diversity and show how the research agendas are strongly connected to the development models for OF&F. | paper |
| Feed production on farms without animals is not environmentally sustainable | Steinshamn, Håvard and Bleken, Marina A and Thuen, Erling | Use of high energy feed supplementation can improve the protein retention by the cattle, and it has been suggested as a way to increase the nitrogen (N) effi-ciency of dairy production. However, in praxis feed supplementation is also used to increase the intensity of animal production above the level that can be supported by the farm's local plant production. A collection of published surveys showed that dairy farms that buy feed are considerably lees N efficient than farms that supply the entire animal ration from their own plant production. The total N emission to the environment per litre milk doubled when 30% of the total feed ration was produced outside the dairy farm. This was so for organic as well as conventional farms. Similar results can be expected for phosphorous and other nutrients. In order to ensure a sustainable and environmentally friendly organic production, imports of feed produced far away from the dairy farm should be strictly limited. We suggest a ceiling of 5 - 10% of total feed ration. | paper |
| How to fear farming system sustainability ? Application to organic cattle meat production | Stassart, Pierre and Stilmant, Didier and Jamar, Daniel | Following different crises, involving agricultural systems, either in terms of environmental pressure or of food quality and safety, an increasing need for farming system sustainability evaluation has been highlighted. How, from the research point of view, to evaluate such sustainability ? What is the methodology to mobilise ? First approaches have developed sustainability indicators to quantify the fluxes existing between the farming systems and their economical, environmental or social surroundings. However, these indicators are difficult to aggregate: each farming system is unique, so it is difficult to define reference values to reach, whatever the farm type. Such indicators are of value when they allow farmers to become aware of the impact of their practices and of the improvement that could be expected following their modification An alternative, to articulate system externalities with farmer practices and schemes, is to shift from eco-centred research posture, wanting to model systems diversity and complexity, to holistic approach with the mobilisation of ‘research-intervention’ methodology. In such posture, the researcher implies himself in the collective action. However the key issue is the reflexivity between these research approaches : research intervention allows to identify possible solutions to be validated in eco- or techno-centred approaches. Once validated these solutions, shared with the actors, are easily accepted | paper |
| Impact of organic agriculture on diversity and abundance of farmland birds in an arable landscape with hedges | Neumann, Helge and Bisschop-Larsen, Leif and Loges, Ralf and Taube, Friedhelm | A comparative study of breeding bird communities of organically and conventionally cultivated arable fields was carried out in northern Germany in 2005. The research was conducted on 40 pairs of fields (conventional/organic), which were selected with regard to similar field sizes and comparable boundary structures (particularly presence of hedges). Bird communities were solely dominated by the skylark Alauda arvensis L., which was the only frequent species on the tested pairs of fields. Diversity of farmland birds (number of species, Shannon-Index) was not affected by type of management. However, the abundance of skylarks (territories/10 ha) was significantly higher in organic than in conventional fields. As the study will be continued, the one-year findings will be verified with respect to changes of crops in rotations. | paper |
| Organic Farming and the Energy Crisis: Saint or Sinner? | Philipps, Lois and Bently-Fox, Helen | Food production systems are partially responsible for contributing to elevated levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere due to the heavy reliance on fossil fuels and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. Organic farming systems, however, strive to work so far as possible within closed systems, which attempt to use appropriate technologies and scarce resources sparingly. Drawing data from recent case studies this paper examines how close modern UK organic farming can come to these ideals. The paper will conclude with recommendations for the organic farming sector to deliver a food production system that will be required to operate within tighter economic, social and environmental constraints in the future. | paper |
| Organic food and farming research needs in the UK:A report on a stakeholder participatory consultation process | Pearce, Bruce and Gibbon, David and Watson, Christine and Fowler, S. and Moore, Charlotte | During 2005 Defra commissioned a study to identify and analyse issues and aspirations that organic stakeholders felt should be addressed by publicly funded organic food and farming research in the UK. How this was undertaken is presented in this paper. A series of 12 workshops were undertaken with stakeholders throughout the UK. Nearly 300 stakeholders attended the workshops. These workshops used participatory approaches to identify and record the most important issues and aspirations from those attending. The use of a highly participatory style was greatly appreciated by stakeholders. In most cases the interaction between stakeholders worked well and resulted in lively discussions. The workshops have served to open up a useful dialogue between groups of stakeholders who do not normally communicate directly. They have produced a significant number of interesting and challenging issues and aspirations. | paper |
| Prototyping organic mixed crop-dairy systems at a local scale : a multi-attribute approach | Coquil, Xavier and Fiorelli, Jean-Louis and Bazard, Claude and Foissy, Damien and Trommenschlager, Jean-Marie and Blouet, André | Social demand for Sustainable agriculture and multifunctionality of agriculture since the 2003 CAP reform, leads agricultural systems to be more friendly for the environment. In such a context, research has to work on the conception of environmental friendly agricultural systems. In East of France, a research team is prototyping two complementary mixed crop-dairy systems aiming to respect the environment and to produce milk and crops. Two organic multi-objective prototypes are being built based on (i) respect of land natural properties (ii) use of low external inputs and (iii) limitation of the exchanges between systems at a local scale. Prototyping that kind of systems requires a multi-attribute approach using different methods. Experimentation at farming system level combined to modelling might suit well that purpose. | paper |
| Strengthening the positive links between organic farming and a sustainable development of rural areas | Knickel, Karlheinz and von Münchhausen, Susanne and Peter, Sarah | Organic farming can play a major role in the sustainable development of rural areas. Our assumption is that it supports the finding of a new balance between societal demands for high environmental quality, the pressures resulting from competition in a world market economy and a wide array of rural development goals and initiatives. The German 'Regional Action - Rural Areas Shaping the Future' pilot programme has been implemented in order to gain best-practice models for securing the economic, ecological and social viability of rural areas and for trial-testing a new integrated, bottom-up approach. In this contribution we present the results of an analysis of the project databank of the Regional Action pilot programme. It is concluded that the projects that are being implemented aim at a reconstitution of nature-society relations, indicating that agriculture and the potential of rural areas are no longer being evaluated in mono-functional terms. | paper |
| The role of organic agriculture in networks for rural development | Schäfer, Martina | The paper presents results on the societal contributions of organic agriculture that go beyond environmental benefits derived from organic standards of production. Based on a survey and case studies, the differing contributions toward rural development by organic farms in Brandenburg (Germany) are demonstrated, including their social and regional engagement, building of bridges between urban and rural areas, and promotion of regional marketing and tourism. Further, the paper highlights the organizational context of these entrepreneurial activities and differentiates between entrepreneurial networks, networks of sustainable regional development, and civil networks. Looking closer at the types of networks the farms are part of and their significance for the societal engagement of organic farms, allows the drawing of conclusions regarding strategies of support for regional development. The identification of key actors and structures that promote regional development seems to be especially important for peripheral rural areas. | paper |
| Visions for organic bioenergy production in Denmark | Dalgaard, Tommy and Jørgensen, Uffe and Kristensen, Inge | There is a large potential for organic bioenergy production, which can be combined with the present food production and the provision of multiple other goods and services required by society; i.e. a cleaner aquatic environment, or nature values in cultural landscapes. This paper presents six scenarios for bioenergy production from organic farming in Denmark, with a total energy production potential of around 6.7 PJ/yr. This potential is compared to the present energy use of around 2.5 PJ/yr, and the po-tentials for energy savings equalling 0.1-0.5 PJ/yr. | paper |
| A participatory methodology for large scale field trials in the UK | Jones, H. and Hinchsliffe, K. and Clarke, S M and Pearce, B and Gibbon, D and Lyon, F and Harris, F and Thomas, J and Wolfe, M S | Farmer participation was essential in developing a uniquely useful set of wheat variety trials data on a wide range of organic farms over two years. Although the trials were successful, it became clear that some of the participating farmers felt there were some limitations in the process. These included a lack of ownership in the project and a concern for more researcher help. It was clear that a greater time in-vestment was needed at the start of the project to help with farmer understanding and ownership. De-spite the negative comments, farmers appreciated their involvement, particularly in contrasting their own views and information with that from the wider scene. Farmer participation is essential for systems-level research and this project helped to develop a small core of trained farmers and researchers. | poster |
| An integrated analysis of scale effects in alternative agricultural systems | Firth, Chris and Philipps, Lois and Stagl, Sigrid and Benton, Tim and Brown, Katrina and Burton, Rob and Carver, Steve and Davies, Ben and Gibbon, David and Godwin, Bob and Kunin, Bill and Rigby, Dan and Salt, Steve | The impacts associated with alternative methods of agricultural production, and the factors that drive their adoption, are critically dependent on the scale at which they are applied. Using organic farming as a case study, this project operating from 2006-2009 in the UK, will undertake an integrated assessment of scale effects by studying matched sets of farms situated in landscapes with high and low concentrations of organic farming. | poster |
| DEVELOPING ORGANIC FARMING IN NORWAY THROUGH SYSTEMIC ACTION RESEARCH | Carlsen, Hanne Weichel and Breland, Tor Arvid and Lieblein, Geir and Francis, Charles | A systemic action research approach to gain insight into the present situation of the agroecosystem, to envision scenarios, and to accomplish workable outcomes is performed. This process is to be accomplished in a participatory way that empowers stakeholders to continue the learning process and system development in an ecologically friendly, socio-culturally feasible and economically viable way. | poster |
| Organic Agriculture in a Development Policy Perspective | Egelyng, Henrik and Halberg, Niels and Høgh-Jensen, Henning | Farmers growing food with high eco-efficiency may be seen cultivating peace by reducing competition among nations for oil and as producers of other public goods: biodiverse landscapes and ecosystem services with more soil fertility, less water use and less pollution. How does Organic agriculture (OA) fare globally on eco-efficiency? Are most African farmers eco-efficient – or may eco-efficient farmers be found everywhere? As OA develops throughout the planet, what does Denmark do beyond Europe? Is organic farming part of our development policy? Do we dilligently share our comparative advantages in this field with developing nations? This article pursues these basic questions. | poster |
| Priorities and approach of the Dutch research in organic food and farming | Blom-Zandstra, M. and Wijnands, F.G. | Organic research in the Netherlands is strongly tuned to the actual demand from the organic sector or enterprises on one hand and future societal development on the other hand. It comprises research activities at different levels varying from strategic (long term) research to production of applied know-ledge. A multidisciplinary approach and participation of different stakeholders in all phases, from devise to result, are important characteristics of the research. | poster |
| SIMBIO-VEG: an interdisciplinary project for improvement of organic systems and meth-ods in arable and vegetable cropping | Bàrberi, Paolo and Mazzoncini, Marco and Bigongiali, Federica and Antichi, Daniele | SIMBIO-VEG is the first large interdisciplinary research project on organic farming ever being funded in Italy. The project partnership is composed of eight Working Units including Universities as well as public and private research centres and associa-tions, with a high degree of interaction among them. SIMBIO-VEG aims to acquire knowledge on the func-tioning of organic arable and vegetable cropping systems, as to (1) optimise systems management and the cultural practices (methods) therein, and improve the understanding of how organic systems and meth-ods influence produce quality and environmental impact. SIMBIO-VEG activities are structured in four strongly integrated research lines. Line 1 aims to understand the functioning of organically-managed agroecosystems and evaluate the technical and agro-nomic feasibility of crop production methods applied therein. Line 2 aims to evaluate the effects of organic systems and methods on overall produce quality, including both standard and innovative methods. Line 3 aims to evaluate the sustainability of organic sys-tems and methods through assessment of parameters and indicators related to soil quality, environmental impact, and economic viability. Lastly, line 4 is aimed to favour diffusion of results and innovation transfer through a comprehensive set of activities. | poster |
| The Case Study Method in Organic Research | Midmore, Peter and Padel, Susanne and Schermer, Markus | This paper argues that the systematic complexity of agriculture requires a methodological pluralism, and that case studies, used hitherto as an ad hoc and exploratory approach, might be developed as a rigorous and appropriate investigational tool in their own right, with particular relevance for the organic sector. It provides a review of the main outlines of the approach and illustrates its application in the context of marketing initiatives and their impact on rural development processes. It concludes that important insights into how and why policies work can be obtained from a comparative case study framework, which cannot be wholly obtained from other approaches. | poster |