Sustainable Agriculture– Beyond Organic Farming

358 Pages·2016·13.65 MB·English

sustainability
Sustainable
Agriculture–
Beyond Organic
Farming
Edited by
Sean Clark
Printed Edition of the Special Issue Published in Sustainability
www.mdpi.com/journal/sustainability
Sean Clark (Ed.)

Sustainable Agriculture–Beyond
Organic Farming
This book is a reprint of the Special Issue that appeared in the online, open access
journal, Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050) in 2016, available at:
http://www.mdpi.com/journal/sustainability/special_issues/BOrganicFarming

Guest Editor
Sean Clark
Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources
Berea College
USA

Editorial Office
MDPI AG
St. Alban-Anlage 66
Basel, Switzerland

Publisher
Shu-Kun Lin

Managing Editor
Guoshui Liu

1. Edition 2016

MDPI • Basel • Beijing • Wuhan • Barcelona • Belgrade

ISBN 978-3-03842-304-1 (Hbk)
ISBN 978-3-03842-305-8 (electronic)

Articles in this volume are Open Access and distributed under the Creative Commons
Attribution license (CC BY), which allows users to download, copy and build upon
published articles even for commercial purposes, as long as the author and publisher are
properly credited, which ensures maximum dissemination and a wider impact of our
publications. The book taken as a whole is © 2016 MDPI, Basel, Switzerland, distributed
under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons by Attribution (CC BY-NC-ND)
license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Table of Contents
List of Contributors ......................................................................................................... VII
About the Guest Editor..................................................................................................... XI
Preface to “Sustainable Agriculture–Beyond Organic Farming” ............................ XIII
Section 1: Performance of Organic Farming
Evelien M. de Olde, Frank W. Oudshoorn, Eddie A. M. Bokkers,
Anke Stubsgaard, Claus A. G. Sørensen and Imke J. M. de Boer
Assessing the Sustainability Performance of Organic Farms in Denmark
Reprinted from: Sustainability 2016, 8(9), 957
http://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/8/9/957 ........................................................................ 3
Juan Torres, Diego L. Valera, Luis J. Belmonte and Carlos Herrero-Sánchez
Economic and Social Sustainability through Organic Agriculture: Study of the
Restructuring of the Citrus Sector in the “Bajo Andarax” District (Spain)
Reprinted from: Sustainability 2016, 8(9), 918
http://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/8/9/918 ...................................................................... 31
Lifen Huang, Jie Yang, Xiaoyi Cui, Huozhong Yang, Shouhong Wang and
Hengyang Zhuang
Synergy and Transition of Recovery Efficiency of Nitrogen Fertilizer in Various
Rice Genotypes under Organic Farming
Reprinted from: Sustainability 2016, 8(9), 854
http://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/8/9/854 ...................................................................... 51
Saem Lee, Trung Thanh Nguyen, Patrick Poppenborg, Hio-Jung Shin and
Thomas Koellner
Conventional, Partially Converted and Environmentally Friendly Farming in
South Korea: Profitability and Factors Affecting Farmers’ Choice
Reprinted from: Sustainability 2016, 8(8), 704
http://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/8/8/704 ...................................................................... 72

III
Alfredo J. Escribano
Beef Cattle Farms’ Conversion to the Organic System. Recommendations for
Success in the Face of Future Changes in a Global Context
Reprinted from: Sustainability 2016, 8(6), 572
http://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/8/6/572 ...................................................................... 97
Section 2: Farming to Food Systems
Natalia Brzezina, Birgit Kopainsky and Erik Mathijs
Can Organic Farming Reduce Vulnerabilities and Enhance the Resilience of the
European Food System? A Critical Assessment Using System Dynamics Structural
Thinking Tools
Reprinted from: Sustainability 2016, 8(10), 971
http://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/8/10/971 .................................................................. 131
Safdar Muhummad, Eihab Fathelrahman and Rafi Ullah Tasbih Ullah
The Significance of Consumer’s Awareness about Organic Food Products in the
United Arab Emirates
Reprinted from: Sustainability 2016, 8(9), 833
http://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/8/9/833 .................................................................... 178
Markus Larsson, Rebecka Milestad, Thomas Hahn and Jacob von Oelreich
The Resilience of a Sustainability Entrepreneur in the Swedish Food System
Reprinted from: Sustainability 2016, 8(6), 550
http://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/8/6/550 .................................................................... 194
Section 3: Beyond Organic: Shaping Future Farming and
Food Systems
Francesco Sottile, Daniela Fiorito, Nadia Tecco, Vincenzo Girgenti and
Cristiana Peano
An Interpretive Framework for Assessing and Monitoring the Sustainability of
School Gardens
Reprinted from: Sustainability 2016, 8(8), 801
http://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/8/8/801 .................................................................... 221

IV
Puchong Sri-uam, Seri Donnuea, Sorawit Powtongsook and Prasert Pavasant
Integrated Multi-Trophic Recirculating Aquaculture System for Nile Tilapia
(Oreochlomis niloticus)
Reprinted from: Sustainability 2016, 8(7), 592
http://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/8/7/592 .................................................................... 242
George Martin, Roland Clift and Ian Christie
Urban Cultivation and Its Contributions to Sustainability: Nibbles of Food but
Oodles of Social Capital
Reprinted from: Sustainability 2016, 8(5), 409
http://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/8/5/409 .................................................................... 261
Matthew Heron Wilson and Sarah Taylor Lovell
Agroforestry—The Next Step in Sustainable and Resilient Agriculture
Reprinted from: Sustainability 2016, 8(6), 574
http://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/8/6/574 .................................................................... 287
Paul Vincelli
Genetic Engineering and Sustainable Crop Disease Management: Opportunities
for Case-by-Case Decision-Making
Reprinted from: Sustainability 2016, 8(5), 495
http://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/8/5/495 .................................................................... 308

V

List of Contributors
Luis J. Belmonte A. R. College of Pharmacy and G H Patel Institute of pharmacy,
Vallabh Vidyanagar, Dist. Anand (Gujarat) – 388120, India.
Eddie A. M. Bokkers Animal Production Systems Group, Wageningen
University, P.O. Box 338, 6700 AH Wageningen, The Netherlands.
Natalia Brzezina Sustainable Food Economies Research Group, KU Leuven,
Leuven 3001, Belgium.
Ian Christie Centre for Environmental Strategy, University of Surrey, Guildford
GU2 7XH, UK.
Roland Clift Centre for Environmental Strategy, University of Surrey, Guildford
GU2 7XH, UK.
Xiaoyi Cui Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Guelph,
50 Stone Rd E, Guelph, ON, N1G 2W1, Canada.
Imke J. M. de Boer Animal Production Systems Group, Wageningen University,
P.O. Box 338, 6700 AH Wageningen, The Netherlands.
Evelien M. de Olde Department of Engineering, Aarhus University, Inge
Lehmanns Gade 10, 8000 Aarhus, Denmark; Animal Production Systems Group,
Wageningen University, P.O. Box 338, 6700 AH Wageningen, The Netherlands.
Seri Donnuea Center of Excellence for Marine Biotechnology, Department of
Marine Science, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, Payathai Road,
Pathumwan, Bangkok 10300, Thailand; National Center for Genetic Engineering
and Biotechnology, National Science and Technology Development Agency,
Pathum Thani 12120, Thailand.
Alfredo J. Escribano Independent Researcher and Consultant, C/Rafael Alberti 24,
Cáceres 10005, Spain.
Eihab Fathelrahman Julius Kühn-Institut, Federal Research Centre for Cultivated
Plants, Institute for Plant Protection in Field Crops and Grassland, Messeweg 11-12,
38104 Braunschweig, Germany.
Daniela Fiorito Department of Agricultural and Forest Sciences (SAF), University
of Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, 11-90128 Palermo, Italy.
Vincenzo Girgenti Department of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences
(DISAFA), University of Torino, Largo Paolo Braccini 2, Grugliasco, 10095 Torino,
Italy.
VII
Thomas Hahn Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University, SE-106 91
Stockholm, Sweden.
Carlos Herrero-Sánchez A. R. College of Pharmacy and G H Patel Institute of
pharmacy, Vallabh Vidyanagar, Dist. Anand (Gujarat) – 388120, India.
Lifen Huang Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Guelph, 50
Stone Rd E, Guelph, ON, N1G 2W1, Canada.
Thomas Koellner Faculty of Biology, Chemistry and Geosciences, University of
Bayreuth, BayCEER, Bayreuth 95440, Germany.
Birgit Kopainsky System Dynamics Group, University of Bergen, Bergen 5020,
Norway.
Markus Larsson Division of Environmental Strategies Research (fms), KTH Royal
Institute of Technology, SE-100 44 Stockholm, Sweden.
Saem Lee Faculty of Biology, Chemistry and Geosciences, University of Bayreuth,
BayCEER, Bayreuth 95440, Germany.
Sarah Taylor Lovell 1009 Plant Sciences Laboratory, Department of Crop Sciences,
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA.
George Martin Centre for Environmental Strategy, University of Surrey,
Guildford GU2 7XH, UK.
Erik Mathijs Sustainable Food Economies Research Group, KU Leuven,
Leuven 3001, Belgium.
Rebecka Milestad Division of Environmental Strategies Research (fms), KTH
Royal Institute of Technology, SE-100 44 Stockholm, Sweden.
Safdar Muhummad Julius Kühn-Institut, Federal Research Centre for Cultivated
Plants, Institute for Plant Protection in Field Crops and Grassland, Messeweg 11-12,
38104 Braunschweig, Germany.
Trung Thanh Nguyen Institute for Environmental Economics and World Trade,
Leibniz University of Hannover, Hannover 30167, Germany.
Frank W. Oudshoorn Department of Engineering, Aarhus University, Inge
Lehmanns Gade 10, 8000 Aarhus, Denmark; SEGES, Agro Food Park 15,
8200 Aarhus N, Denmark.
Prasert Pavasant School of Energy Science and Engineering, Vidyasirimedhi
Institute of Science and Technology, Rayong 21210, Thailand; Chemical
Engineering Research Unit for Value Adding of Bioresources, Department of
Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Chulalongkorn University,
Bangkok 10330, Thailand.
VIII
Cristiana Peano Department of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences (DISAFA),
University of Torino, Largo Paolo Braccini 2, Grugliasco, 10095 Torino, Italy.
Patrick Poppenborg Faculty of Biology, Chemistry and Geosciences, University of
Bayreuth, BayCEER, Bayreuth 95440, Germany.
Sorawit Powtongsook Center of Excellence for Marine Biotechnology,
Department of Marine Science, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University,
Payathai Road, Pathumwan, Bangkok 10300, Thailand; National Center for
Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, National Science and Technology
Development Agency, Pathum Thani 12120, Thailand.
Hio-Jung Shin Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Kangwon
National University, 1 Kangwondaehak-gil, Chuncheon-si, Gangwon-do 24341,
Republic of Korea.
Francesco Sottile Department of Agricultural and Forest Sciences (SAF),
University of Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, 11-90128 Palermo, Italy.
Claus A. G. Sørensen Department of Engineering, Aarhus University, Inge
Lehmanns Gade 10, 8000 Aarhus, Denmark.
Puchong Sri-uam Chemical Engineering Research Unit for Value Adding of
Bioresources, Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering,
Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand.
Anke Stubsgaard SEGES, Agro Food Park 15, 8200 Aarhus N, Denmark.
Rafi Ullah Tasbih Ullah Julius Kühn-Institut, Federal Research Centre for
Cultivated Plants, Institute for Plant Protection in Field Crops and Grassland,
Messeweg 11-12, 38104 Braunschweig, Germany.
Nadia Tecco Department of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences (DISAFA),
University of Torino, Largo Paolo Braccini 2, Grugliasco, 10095 Torino, Italy.
Juan Torres A. R. College of Pharmacy and G H Patel Institute of pharmacy,
Vallabh Vidyanagar, Dist. Anand (Gujarat) – 388120, India; Department of
Applied Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Medical University of Lublin, 1 Chodzki
Str. 20-093, Lublin, Poland.
Diego L. Valera A. R. College of Pharmacy and G H Patel Institute of pharmacy,
Vallabh Vidyanagar, Dist. Anand (Gujarat) – 388120, India.
Paul Vincelli Department of Plant Pathology, 207 Plant Science Building, College
of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Kentucky, Lexington,
KY 40546, USA.
IX