Ecological agriculture and biodiversity -relationships, congruences, objective conditions and perceptions of local actors

Florian, Violeta and Rusu, Marioara and Roşu, Elisabeta (2020): Ecological agriculture and biodiversity -relationships, congruences, objective conditions and perceptions of local actors. Published in: Agrarian Economy and Rural Development - Realities and Perspectives for Romania, 2020 , Vol. 11, No. ISSN 2668-0955, ISSN-L 2285-6803 (19 November 2020): pp. 211-218.

Abstract

Ecological agriculture provides a favourable framework for maintaining biodiversity by using economically and socially efficient friendly farming practices, generating modern attributes to rural communities and offering a different lifestyle and a different quality of life to the entire society. In two counties ranking in the top ten counties with areas cultivated under organic farming system, Cluj and Suceava, there are positive implications of these farming practices on biological diversity. Qualitative research methods were used to see the local/rural actors’ opinion on this topic: hybrid forum and in-depth-interviews. Farmers’ decisions to adopt sustainable practices for the environment, which provide positive externalities for biodiversity, water, soil and landscapes, are generated by business-specific economic and social rationality tending to achieve profit specific objectives by using traditional knowledge and skills from the intangible rural heritage.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: ecological agriculture, biodiversity, rural communities, local actors.
• Subjects: Q - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics ; Environmental and Ecological Economics > Q1 - Agriculture > Q15 - Land Ownership and Tenure ; Land Reform ; Land Use ; Irrigation ; Agriculture and Environment; R - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics > R1 - General Regional Economics > R11 - Regional Economic Activity: Growth, Development, Environmental Issues, and Changes

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