Details and abstract follow of a paper written by FCRN mailing list member, Chris Smaje, entitled Industrial or agro-ecological farming: performance indicators in the UK (2011).
Abstract
This paper examines the performance of conventional, high-input ‘industrial’ farming and agro-ecological smallholding across seven different indicators of performance:
- Productivity per unit area.
- Productivity per unit cultivated area.
- Nutritionally necessary productive capacity.
- Productivity per unit labour.
Details and abstract follow of a paper written by FCRN mailing list member, Chris Smaje, entitled Industrial or agro-ecological farming: performance indicators in the UK (2011).
Abstract
This paper examines the performance of conventional, high-input ‘industrial’ farming and agro-ecological smallholding across seven different indicators of performance:
- Productivity per unit area.
- Productivity per unit cultivated area.
- Nutritionally necessary productive capacity.
- Productivity per unit labour.
- Productivity per unit greenhouse gas emitted.
- Productivity per unit fossil energy use.
- Biodiversity.
Productivity is measured in terms of gross food production, energy and protein. Data are taken from UK average figures and specific farm productivity figures on the basis of two ‘ideal-typical’ farms of their type: a 100ha mainly arable farm and a 6ha horticultural smallholding. It’s found that the industrial farm is more productive on a unit area and labour basis, but that the agro-ecological farm is adequately productive in terms of nutritionally necessary productive capacity.
The agro-ecological farm is more productive in relation to greenhouse gas emissions, fossil energy use and biodiversity. Thus each farm type offers specific forms of productive efficiency – neither is the most ‘efficient’ in any absolute sense. The paper discusses data limitations and policy implications.
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