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Diversification and specialisation as development strategies in organic farms

Zander, Katrin (2008) Diversification and specialisation as development strategies in organic farms. In: Neuhoff, Daniel; Halberg, Niels; Alföldi, Thomas; Lockeretz, William; Thommen, Andreas; Rasmussen, Ilse; Hermansen, John; Vaarst, Mette; Lueck, Lorna; Caporali, Fabio; Jensen, Henning Hogh; Migliorini, Paola and Willer, Helga (Eds.) Cultivating the Future Based on Science. Cultivating the Future Based on Science, Vol. 2., International Society of Organic Agriculture Research (ISOFAR), c/o IOL, DE-Bonn, Research Institute of Organic Agriculture FiBL, CH-Frick, pp. 316-319.

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Document available online at: http://orgprints.org/13674/


Summary

Unsatisfying economic performance, continuous work overload or the entrance of the younger generation are often the starting point for reorientation of the farm’s organisation in order to increase the farm’s efficiency. Theoretically, farmers are faced with two main options when looking for a viable farm strategy: diversification or specialisation. Based on a quantitative and qualitative survey of 40 farms, the results show that the decision to either diversify or specialise is usually a multi-dimensional issue. Only the analyses of the interactions between many different factors may help to understand the decision processes on farms. One central result of the study is that the personality of the farmer is the key driving factor in the decision on specialisation or diversification. The study also reveals that, whereas cost reduction is observed to be a valuable strategy in conventional farming, it seems to be of very limited relevance in organic farming in Germany


EPrint Type:Conference paper, poster, etc.
Type of presentation:Paper
Keywords:farm economics, farmers personality, DISC, differentiation
Subjects: Farming Systems > Social aspects
Farming Systems > Farm economics
Research affiliation: Germany > Federal Organic Farming Scheme - BOELN > Economics > Economics - Advice
International Conferences > 2008: IFOAM OWC: Research Track / ISOFAR > 5.1 Farm economics
Germany > Federal Research Institute for Rural Areas, Forestry and Fisheries - VTI > Institute of Farm Economics - BW
Deposited By: Zander, Dr. Katrin
ID Code:13980
Deposited On:20 Aug 2008
Last Modified:12 Apr 2010 07:37
Document Language:English
Status:Published
Refereed:Not peer-reviewed

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