| Popis: |
The theme of this session is the expansion and market competitiveness of organic agriculture. Because no single definition exists in economics or agriculture of the terms competitiveness and organics, let me start by offering some definitions. The National Organic Standards Board defines organic agriculture as an ecological production management system that promotes and enhances biodiversity, biological cycles, and soil biological activity. The focus of the definition is on ecologically compatible production systems, not on the product itself, or allowable (or nonallowable) specific inputs. In contrast, a discussion on markets and competitiveness focuses on the product itself. In an introductory economics textbook, competitiveness is defined as striving among a number of rivals in a contest aimed at purchasing or selling a particular product (Bronfenbrenner, Sichel, and Gardner). Firms producing organic products compete with one another for a share of the organics market, but the arena for the contest is much more cen |
