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The employment benefits of organic farming

Green, M and Maynard, R (2006) The employment benefits of organic farming. In: Atkinson, C; Ball, B; Davies, D H K; Rees, R; Russell, G; Stockdale, E A; Watson, C A; Walker, R and Younie, D (Eds.) Aspects of Applied Biology 79, What will organic farming deliver? COR 2006, Association of Applied Biologists, pp. 51-55.

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Summary

Organic farming in the UK provides a range of economic and social benefi ts. In particular, it provides 32% more jobs per farm than equivalent non-organic farms. These new findings are based on the fi rst national survey of employment on UK organic farms, carried out by the University of Essex for the Soil Association. Organic farming is helping to reverse the decline in the UK’s agricultural workforce, which has fallen by 80% in the last 50 years. In contrast to the ageing overall farming population, organic farmers are, on average, seven years younger than their non-organic counterparts. Organic farmers are also three times more likely to be engaged in business innovations activities, such as direct marketing and on-farm processing. If all UK farmers adopted organic farming, it would produce an additional 93,000 on-farm jobs. These findings have significant implications for developing countries where a skilled agricultural workforce is vital to safeguard livelihoods and ensure global food security.


EPrint Type:Conference paper, poster, etc.
Type of presentation:Paper
Keywords:Organic farming, employment, food, sustainability, rural development, developing world.
Subjects: Farming Systems > Social aspects
Farming Systems > Farm economics
Research affiliation: UK > Soil Association
UK > Colloquium of Organic Researchers (COR) > COR 2006
Deposited By: MILLMAN, Mrs Carol A
ID Code:10178
Deposited On:13 Dec 2006
Last Modified:12 Apr 2010 07:34
Document Language:English
Status:Published
Refereed:Not peer-reviewed

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