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Assessing the Sustainability Performance of Organic and Low-Input Conventional Farms from Eastern Poland with the RISE Indicator System

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  • Adam Kleofas Berbeć

    (Department of Systems and Economics of Crop Production, Institute of Soil Science and Plant Cultivation, State Research Institute, Czartoryskich 8, 24-100 Puławy, Poland)

  • Beata Feledyn-Szewczyk

    (Department of Systems and Economics of Crop Production, Institute of Soil Science and Plant Cultivation, State Research Institute, Czartoryskich 8, 24-100 Puławy, Poland)

  • Christian Thalmann

    (School of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences in Zollikofen, Bern University of Applied Sciences, Länggasse 85, CH-3052 Zollikofen, Switzerland)

  • Rebekka Wyss

    (School of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences in Zollikofen, Bern University of Applied Sciences, Länggasse 85, CH-3052 Zollikofen, Switzerland)

  • Jan Grenz

    (School of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences in Zollikofen, Bern University of Applied Sciences, Länggasse 85, CH-3052 Zollikofen, Switzerland)

  • Jerzy Kopiński

    (Department of Systems and Economics of Crop Production, Institute of Soil Science and Plant Cultivation, State Research Institute, Czartoryskich 8, 24-100 Puławy, Poland)

  • Jarosław Stalenga

    (School of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences in Zollikofen, Bern University of Applied Sciences, Länggasse 85, CH-3052 Zollikofen, Switzerland)

  • Paweł Radzikowski

    (Department of Systems and Economics of Crop Production, Institute of Soil Science and Plant Cultivation, State Research Institute, Czartoryskich 8, 24-100 Puławy, Poland)

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine the sustainability performance of organic and low-input conventional farms with the sustainability assessment tool—RISE 3.0. It is an indicator-based method for holistic assessment of sustainability of agricultural production at farm level. Ten organic and 10 conventional farms from eastern Poland, Lublin province were assessed. According to the thresholds levels of the RISE method, organic farms performed positively for 7 out of 10 themes, while the values of the other 3 topics, biodiversity, working conditions, and economic viability, were at medium level. Conventional farms reached positive scores for 9 out of 10 themes. The only middle-performing theme was biodiversity. None of the two farm types had the lowest, problematic scores for examined themes. For the theme biodiversity and two indicators (greenhouse gas balance and intensity of agricultural production), significant differences between farming systems were found. Biodiversity performance, an important indicator of sustainability, estimated with the RISE system, was highly correlated with measured on-field weed flora and Orthoptera biodiversity of farms. High soil acidity and low crop productivity, improper weed regulation, and energy management were the most common problems in both types of farms. Working hours and wage and income levels were also assessed as being low. Recommendations to improve the sustainability of both organic and conventional farms are presented.

Suggested Citation

  • Adam Kleofas Berbeć & Beata Feledyn-Szewczyk & Christian Thalmann & Rebekka Wyss & Jan Grenz & Jerzy Kopiński & Jarosław Stalenga & Paweł Radzikowski, 2018. "Assessing the Sustainability Performance of Organic and Low-Input Conventional Farms from Eastern Poland with the RISE Indicator System," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(6), pages 1-22, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:10:y:2018:i:6:p:1792-:d:149615
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    References listed on IDEAS

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