Sustainability and Resilience in Organic Greenhouse Horticulture. Examples from Italy and the UK

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    Abstract

    It is estimated that at least 5,000 ha of greenhouses are managed organically within the EU. One current development is the "conventionalisation" of organic practices, another is the increase of community supported agriculture and short food supply chains. In this study, we capture both ends of the organic spectrum. Sustainability and resilience have been given theoretical definitions; however, the perspectives of organic growers have not been studied. The aim of the research was to connect theory and practice across Europe with two case-study countries, Italy and the UK. An online survey was emailed to organic growers in both countries, and remained open from June 2016 to June 2017, containing 17 questions on general information and 12 researching details on sustainable and resilient practices, and major influencing factors on growers' decisions. These questions were presented as five-point Likert-scaled, so growers were asked to attribute a weight from low (1) to high (5) to issues and practices in relation to their relevance to the sustainability and resilience of their farms' management. Results showed that soil fertility management was rated highest in both Italy and the UK. Biodiversity and landscape protection were rated higher in Italy, while energy efficiency and weed management were rated higher in the UK. Short food supply chains, product traceability and traditional knowledge were equally rated. These interesting differences and similarities were further studied in detail with 20 on-farm interviews (10 in Italy and 10 in the UK), to give voice to growers' specific perspectives on sustainability and resilience.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)39-45
    Number of pages7
    JournalActa Horticulturae
    Volume1286
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 17 Jul 2020
    EventXXX International Horticultural Congress IHC2018: II International Symposium on Organic Horticulture for Wellbeing of the Environment and Population - Istanbul, Turkey
    Duration: 12 Aug 201816 Aug 2018
    Conference number: 30
    https://www.ishs.org/symposium/669

    Bibliographical note

    The original publication is available at https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2020.1286.7.

    Copyright © and Moral Rights are retained by the author(s) and/ or other copyright owners. A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge. This item cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the copyright holder(s). The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders.

    Keywords

    • Greenhouses
    • Organic
    • Resilience
    • Short food supply chains
    • Soil fertility management
    • Sustainability

    ASJC Scopus subject areas

    • Horticulture

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