Book of Abstracts
11th IFOAM
Scientific Conference
11-15 August 1996
Copenhagen, Denmark

Abstract front page
Subject index
Athor index

Special Presentations

Policies for further development of organic farming F14

Weinschenck, Günther

Institut für Landwirtschaftliche Betriebslehre der Universität Hohenheim

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Two alternatives exist for further development of organic farming:1) The pull approach expanding organic farming according to the change of consumers behaviour and the corresponding development of demand 2) The push approach subsidising the conversion on the farm level in order to accelerate the conversion rate. Policies and their consequences are considered emphasising the push approach assuming that policies for the pull approach are considered in the marketing paper.

Three major problems will be considered: 1) Problems of acceptance by farmers (Which are the conditions under which conversion takes place and what motivates the farmers?). 2) Conversion costs on micro- and macro-level (Effect of the conversion on the structure of pro-duction, the intensity of the use of the landscape, on farm income, and on market supply). 3) Problems of political acceptance( Will the strong version of ecological farming be accepted if a policy aims at a conversion of the whole sector or is policy likely to include softer forms like integrated farming?)

The last chapter asks for the welfare effects of full scale conversion in surplus and deficit markets ending in a consideration whether full scale conversion is a realistic and desirable objective, taking into account that world markets might change from a structural surplus to a structural deficit situation.