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EU rural policy: proposal and application of an agricultural sustainability index

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  • Vecchione, Gaetano

Abstract

In this paper I propose an Agricultural Sustainability Index (ASI) starting from a ‘political’ perspective: European legislation in the rural sector. I try to answer these questions. How can we measure sustainability in agriculture? How do we measure the enhancement (if any) of the European policy for sustainability in agriculture? Why do some geographical areas perform better than others? Considering these questions, the paper suggests a model for measuring sustainability in agriculture and an approach to compare performances among different geographical contexts. The model puts together different dimensions of sustainability in agriculture, combining Geographical Information System (GIS) analysis and Multi-Criteria Analysis (MCA). Using eighteen agricultural indicators divided into three dimensions, social, economic and environmental, the model incorporates the following stages: (i) indicator specification and definition of the decisional framework; (ii) indicators' normalisation by means of transformation functions based on the fuzzy logic approach; (iii) indicators weighted by Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) techniques; (iv) indicators aggregated to obtain the ASI. The model is tested on a specific area: Alta Val d’Agri, a rural area in the southern Basilicata Region. Final results show that ASI consistently synthesises the evolution of thirty years of rural development policy.

Suggested Citation

  • Vecchione, Gaetano, 2010. "EU rural policy: proposal and application of an agricultural sustainability index," MPRA Paper 27032, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:27032
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    2. Shamsheer Haq & Ismet Boz, 2020. "Measuring environmental, economic, and social sustainability index of tea farms in Rize Province, Turkey," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 22(3), pages 2545-2567, March.
    3. Ranjan Roy & Ngai Weng Chan, 2012. "An assessment of agricultural sustainability indicators in Bangladesh: review and synthesis," Environment Systems and Decisions, Springer, vol. 32(1), pages 99-110, March.
    4. Calin S. Vac & Avram Fitiu, 2017. "Building Sustainable Development through Technology Transfer in a Romanian University," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(11), pages 1-22, November.
    5. Sadeeka L. Jayasinghe & Dean T. Thomas & Jonathan P. Anderson & Chao Chen & Ben C. T. Macdonald, 2023. "Global Application of Regenerative Agriculture: A Review of Definitions and Assessment Approaches," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(22), pages 1-49, November.

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    JEL classification:

    • C43 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods: Special Topics - - - Index Numbers and Aggregation
    • Q01 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - General - - - Sustainable Development
    • R5 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Regional Government Analysis

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