Submitted Successfully!
To reward your contribution, here is a gift for you: A free trial for our video production service.
Thank you for your contribution! You can also upload a video entry or images related to this topic.
Version Summary Created by Modification Content Size Created at Operation
1
Dacinia Crina Petrescu
 -- 1525 2022-03-31 17:09:51 |
2 format is correct
Yvaine Wei
 -3 word(s) 1522 2022-04-01 05:03:08 |

Video Upload Options

Do you have a full video?
Send video materials Upload full video

Confirm

Are you sure to Delete?
Yes No
Cite
If you have any further questions, please contact Encyclopedia Editorial Office.
Petrescu, D.C.; Petrescu-Mag, R.M.; Ozunu, A.; Spanu, I. Agri-Environmental Indicators and Stakeholders’ Assessment of Their Quality. Encyclopedia. Available online: https://encyclopedia.pub/entry/21244 (accessed on 01 July 2024).
Petrescu DC, Petrescu-Mag RM, Ozunu A, Spanu I. Agri-Environmental Indicators and Stakeholders’ Assessment of Their Quality. Encyclopedia. Available at: https://encyclopedia.pub/entry/21244. Accessed July 01, 2024.
Petrescu, Dacinia Crina, Ruxandra Malina Petrescu-Mag, Alexandru Ozunu, Ionut Spanu. "Agri-Environmental Indicators and Stakeholders’ Assessment of Their Quality" Encyclopedia, https://encyclopedia.pub/entry/21244 (accessed July 01, 2024).
Petrescu, D.C., Petrescu-Mag, R.M., Ozunu, A., & Spanu, I. (2022, March 31). Agri-Environmental Indicators and Stakeholders’ Assessment of Their Quality. In Encyclopedia. https://encyclopedia.pub/entry/21244
Petrescu, Dacinia Crina, et al. "Agri-Environmental Indicators and Stakeholders’ Assessment of Their Quality." Encyclopedia. Web. 31 March, 2022.
Agri-Environmental Indicators and Stakeholders’ Assessment of Their Quality
Edit
This entry is adapted from the peer-reviewed paper 10.3390/agriculture12040490

The degree to which economic goals have been prioritized over environmental and social objectives has caused dissatisfaction with conventional agricultural practices and stimulated the adoption of sustainable farming methods. One way to consider the multidimensionality of sustainable agriculture is to refer to indicators, more precisely, to agri-environmental indicators (AEIs). 

indicators farmers perceptions agricultural system sustainability

1. Introduction

Sustainability in agricultural systems is one of the main references for international and national development goals aiming to advance more ecofriendly technologies and practices that can significantly contribute to food security [1], preservation of cultural services, local knowledge, alleviation of poverty [2][3], or mitigation of climate change [4][5]. The impact of human activity is profound and has become the dominant cause of environmental change [6]. As a result, scientists consider that Earth has entered the Anthropocene, a new human-dominated geological epoch [7]. To deal with these challenges and react to opportunities, the socio-agroecological transition [8][9] will need to adopt cutting-edge methods and technologies to use biodiversity, integrate agriculture in the landscape, and control biogeochemical substances in a closed-loop system [9]. These will sustainably impact land cultivation, production, and even supply chain management [10].
Even if urbanization is advancing rapidly, agriculture still stands as the basis of human life [5], and results in pressing issues for sustainability [11]. Research has continued to reveal the challenges of conventional agriculture, particularly in land-use change that causes biodiversity loss and the intensive use of agrochemicals, thus impacting soil fertility, GHG emissions, or water scarcity. Water demand, for example, is expected to increase due to population growth, and, in particular, the use of agricultural water will intensify to satisfy the heightened food demand [12].
This gloomy reality is a consequence of the industrial model of agriculture that views farms as factories and values fields, plants, and animals as production units [13]. Meeting the needs of the human population requires tremendous resources. The scientific literature often reports that sustainable agriculture produces much less than conventional systems; however, yield differences are highly contextual, depending on system and site characteristics [14]. However, an increasing number of people, especially from Western countries, feel that conventional agriculture is not meeting their expectations. Inappropriate animal welfare practices, health concerns, and environmental degradation are the narratives against conventional agriculture. The question is: “Can current agricultural practices feed the growing population equitably, healthily, and sustainably” [15]? In this widely debated context, there was an aim of bypassing the schism between agriculture and the environment through “sustainable agriculture”, which is seen as a holistic model of development where production units are organisms having many complex, interrelated sub-organisms [13].
Progress in the design of AEIs has been made by initiatives across the institutional spectrum, and many national AEIs are linked to agri-environmental sustainability frameworks adopted by governments at the highest level. One of the prominent criticisms is that these indicators have low capability to effectively counterbalance environmental destruction and unsustainable development, which threaten the well-being of all humanity. Furthermore, there is little research on the improvement of AEIs, and further development of sets of indicators, or even indicator-based research methods, is required to meet the sustainability targets of the agricultural system. Another gap often mentioned in the sustainability indicators literature is that the scientific information conveyed by the indicators is insufficient to produce a change in national decision making or individual behavior [16]. Therefore, effective AEIs must balance the practical needs of stakeholders with a theoretically sound understanding of agri-environmental sustainability. Consequently, the investigation of stakeholders’ perceptions of AEIs is vital.
Regardless of the precision of the AEIs, which is a subject of debate, they remain a state-of-the-art instrument in assessing the sustainability of farming systems, providing valuable information and even datasets when two or more indicators are combined. Indicators help incorporate agri-environmental knowledge into decision making and help measure the progress toward sustainable development goals [17]. Practically, it is hard to manage what is not measured, and AEIs more efficiently address the nexus between agriculture and the environment [18]. Thus, AEIs are valued as the main ingredient in achieving future sustainable agriculture [18].

From Sustainable Agriculture to Agri-Environmental Indicators

Like the concept of “sustainable development”, “sustainable agriculture” is challenging to interpret and conceptualize, thus complicating its use and implementation [19][20]. Furthermore, an absolute definition of sustainable agriculture is questionable, mainly because there are a range and number of stakeholders [21] with different values and beliefs, and many rural characteristics differ from region to region. Hence, it is important to continue exploring the meaning of agricultural sustainability as a time- and space-specific [22] work-in-progress concept.

A wide range of socioeconomic and environmental indicators have been developed [23][19][24][25][26] to measure the sustainability of agriculture. These helped farmers worldwide to make improvements in the use and management of nutrients, pesticides, energy, and water, and progress in adopting more environmentally beneficial practices, such as conservation tillage, soil nutrient testing, or manure storage [27]. Despite these improvements, there is still more to do, and sustainable agricultural practices will continue to play a significant role in protecting the environment. Thus, to fulfill the purposes, sustainable agriculture was defined as agriculture that “over the long term, enhances the environmental quality and the resource base on which agriculture depends; provides for basic human food and fiber needs; is economically viable; and enhances the quality of life for farmers and society as a whole” ([28] cited by [29]). Practically, agricultural sustainability finally aims to preserve natural resources and the resilience of rural communities by promoting lucrative and community-friendly farming practices and methods [30].

Fernandes and Woodhouse [31] define AEIs as “estimators of the impact of agricultural practices on the agroecosystem”. Yli-Viikari et al. [32] consider the AEIs as “tools to address current development paths of agricultural production in broader terms”. The AEIs can help farmers adapt their agricultural practices to be environmentally friendly [31]. At the broader regional/national level, AEIs can inform the effectiveness of agri-environmental programs and support policy decisions [33].
As many studies have acknowledged [34][35][36], AEIs must address the following aspects: description or explanation of the state of spatial systems and its deviation from the natural state; impact assessment of the effect of particular actions on the state of spatial systems and its deviation from the natural state; prediction of future conditions of spatial systems under various scenarios of socio-economic or environmental change; and monitoring to keep track of changes in the state of spatial systems and to support appropriate corrective actions. Nonetheless, the literature dedicated to AEIs highlights several limitations associated with their use. For example, one limitation of the AEIs is data availability and collection [37].

2. Current Insights

Although agricultural performance has been evaluated during the last 30 years using mainly one criterion, namely “Productivity” [38], a broader perspective is needed to better reflect the environmental concerns and human needs. The transition to sustainable agriculture implies a shift from farm-level solutions to a focus on interactions within the entire value chain, from production to consumption [39]. The demand of the European welfare society, which targets higher agricultural productivity, must meet consumers’ expectations of more environmentally friendly farming products and their concerns for a balanced environment. To understand these new societal needs, researchers have looked beyond that single criterion—productivity—and turned their attention to natural resources, which, together with financial resources, labor force, and technology, are at the basis of agricultural productivity. Consequently, tools such as AEIs have been developed to successfully assess the sustainability of farming systems [40].
One central idea is that there is still considerable room for improvement in the indicator selection process [41][42][43]. Additionally, the lack of robust and coherent “procedures for selecting indicators makes it difficult to validate the information provided by those indicators” [44]. Other referenced studies stressed that a transparent indicator selection process would increase the scientific credibility of environmental assessment [42][45][46], underlying the need for indicators that can link ecological dimensions with environmental, social, and economic dimensions. Additionally, the AEIs literature review highlighted that AEIs are not yet universal tools for global monitoring of farm sustainability. As many referenced authors argued in the scientific literature, new indicators and indicator-based methods [e.g., DPSIR (drivers, pressures, state, impact, and response model of intervention)] should be developed to address local or regional agri-environmental particularities.

3. Conclusions

One main conclusion is that AEIs must be developed within a transdisciplinary context that brings together agricultural and environmental dimensions to provide the best and most sustainable solutions to the current challenges facing the agricultural system. Furthermore, once the indicators are developed according to local specificity and tested by agri-environmental specialists, they must be integrated into national, regional, and local agricultural policies and strategies.

The possible reluctance of farmers to accept and implement AEIs. Tripartite cooperation between stakeholders—agri-environmental researchers, policymakers, and farmers—is necessary to ensure this approach is successful.

Another aspect that must be acknowledged is that most AEIs refer to only one dimension of sustainable development—the environment. Therefore, to have a broader picture of a sustainable farming system, one must combine different indicators or develop sets of interrelated indicators that approach all three dimensions of sustainability.
Finally, the AEIs play a critical role in highlighting the current and future trends in the state of the environment within the agricultural system (e.g., soil erosion, and pesticide load from soil or water). Consequently, the AEIs can help monitor a farming system and set the priorities for future policy actions.

References

  1. Petrescu-Mag, R.M.; Petrescu, D.C.; Reti, K.-O. My Land Is My Food: Exploring Social Function of Large Land Deals Using Food Security–Land Deals Relation in Five Eastern European Countries. Land Use Policy 2019, 82, 729–741.
  2. Pretty, J. Agricultural Sustainability: Concepts, Principles and Evidence. Philos. Trans. R. Soc. B Biol. Sci. 2008, 363, 447–465.
  3. Talukder, B.; Blay-Palmer, A.; Hipel, K.W. Towards Complexity of Agricultural Sustainability Assessment: Main Issues and Concerns. Environ. Sustain. Indic. 2020, 6, 100038.
  4. Agovino, M.; Casaccia, M.; Ciommi, M.; Ferrara, M.; Marchesano, K. Agriculture, Climate Change and Sustainability: The Case of EU-28. Ecol. Indic. 2019, 105, 525–543.
  5. Karimi, V.; Karami, E.; Karami, S.; Keshavarz, M. Adaptation to Climate Change through Agricultural Paradigm Shift. Environ. Dev. Sustain. 2021, 23, 5465–5485.
  6. van Zanten, J.A.; van Tulder, R. Towards Nexus-Based Governance: Defining Interactions between Economic Activities and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Int. J. Sustain. Dev. World Ecol. 2020, 28, 210–226.
  7. Lewis, S.L.; Maslin, M.A. Defining the Anthropocene. Nature 2015, 519, 171–180.
  8. Garnier, J.; Le Noë, J.; Marescaux, A.; Sanz-Cobena, A.; Lassaletta, L.; Silvestre, M.; Thieu, V.; Billen, G. Long-Term Changes in Greenhouse Gas Emissions from French Agriculture and Livestock (1852–2014): From Traditional Agriculture to Conventional Intensive Systems. Sci. Total Environ. 2019, 660, 1486–1501.
  9. Maurel, V.B.; Huyghe, C. Putting Agricultural Equipment and Digital Technologies at the Cutting Edge of Agroecology. Oléagineux Corps Gras Lipides 2017, 24, 1–7.
  10. Streimikis, J.; Baležentis, T. Agricultural Sustainability Assessment Framework Integrating Sustainable Development Goals and Interlinked Priorities of Environmental, Climate and Agriculture Policies. Sustain. Dev. 2020, 28, 1702–1712.
  11. Gomiero, T.; Pimentel, D.; Paoletti, M.G. Is There a Need for a More Sustainable Agriculture? Crit. Rev. Plant Sci. 2011, 30, 6–23.
  12. Hristov, J.; Barreiro-Hurle, J.; Salputra, G.; Blanco, M.; Witzke, P. Reuse of Treated Water in European Agriculture: Potential to Address Water Scarcity under Climate Change. Agric. Water Manag. 2021, 251, 106872.
  13. Ikerd, J.E. The Need for a System Approach to Sustainable Agriculture. Agric. Ecosyst. Environ. 1993, 46, 147–160.
  14. Seufert, V.; Ramankutty, N.; Foley, J.A. Comparing the Yields of Organic and Conventional Agriculture. Nature 2012, 485, 229–232.
  15. Beddington, J. Food Security: Contributions from Science to a New and Greener Revolution. Philos. Trans. R. Soc. B Biol. Sci. 2010, 365, 61–71.
  16. Dahl, A.L. Achievements and Gaps in Indicators for Sustainability. Ecol. Indic. 2012, 17, 14–19.
  17. United Nations. Indicators of Sustainable Development: Guidelines and Methodologies; United Nations: New York, NY, USA, 2007.
  18. Reytar, K.; Hanson, C.; Henninger, N. Indicators of Sustainable Agriculture: A Scoping Analysis; World Resources Institute: Washington, DC, USA, 2014; pp. 1–20.
  19. Hayati, D.; Ranjbar, Z.; Karami, E. Measuring Agricultural Sustainability. In Biodiversity, Biofuels, Agroforestry and Conservation Agriculture; Springer: Berlin/Heidelberg, Germany, 2010; pp. 73–100.
  20. Velten, S.; Leventon, J.; Jager, N.; Newig, J. What Is Sustainable Agriculture? A Systematic Review. Sustainability 2015, 7, 7833–7865.
  21. Laurett, R.; Paço, A.; Mainardes, E.W. Sustainable Development in Agriculture and Its Antecedents, Barriers and Consequences—An Exploratory Study. Sustain. Prod. Consum. 2021, 27, 298–311.
  22. Zhen, L.; Routray, J.K. Operational Indicators for Measuring Agricultural Sustainability in Developing Countries. Environ. Manag. 2003, 32, 34–46.
  23. FAO. A Literature Review and Key Agri/Environmental Indicators; FAO: Rome, Italy, 2017.
  24. Gómez-Limón, J.A.; Sanchez-Fernandez, G. Empirical Evaluation of Agricultural Sustainability Using Composite Indicators. Ecol. Econ. 2010, 69, 1062–1075.
  25. Martín-Gamboa, M.; Iribarren, D.; García-Gusano, D.; Dufour, J. A Review of Life-Cycle Approaches Coupled with Data Envelopment Analysis within Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis for Sustainability Assessment of Energy Systems. J. Clean. Prod. 2017, 150, 164–174.
  26. Valizadeh, N.; Hayati, D. Development and Validation of an Index to Measure Agricultural Sustainability. J. Clean. Prod. 2021, 280, 123797.
  27. OECD. Agriculture and the Environment. In Better Policies to Improve the Environmental Performance of the Agriculture Sector; OECD: Paris, France, 2022.
  28. Anonymous Decision Reached on Sustainable Ag. Agron. News 1989.
  29. Weil, R.R. Defining and Using the Concept of Sustainable Agriculture. J. Agron. Educ. 1990, 19, 126–130.
  30. Dunlap, R.E.; Beus, C.E.; Howell, R.E.; Waud, J. What Is Sustainable Agriculture? An Empirical Examination of Faculty and Farmer Definitions. J. Sustain. Agric. 1993, 3, 5–41.
  31. Fernandes, L.A.D.O.; Woodhouse, P.J. Family Farm Sustainability in Southern Brazil: An Application of Agri-Environmental Indicators. Ecol. Econ. 2008, 66, 243–257.
  32. Yli-Viikari, A.; Hietala-Koivu, R.; Huusela-Veistola, E.; Hyvönen, T.; Perälä, P.; Turtola, E. Evaluating Agri-Environmental Indicators (AEIs)—Use and Limitations of International Indicators at National Level. Ecol. Indic. 2007, 7, 150–163.
  33. Pajewski, T.; Malak-Rawlikowska, A.; Gołębiewska, B. Measuring Regional Diversification of Environmental Externalities in Agriculture and the Effectiveness of Their Reduction by EU Agri-Environmental Programs in Poland. J. Clean. Prod. 2020, 276, 123013.
  34. Briassoulis, H. Sustainable Development and Its Indicators: Through a (Planner’s) Glass Darkly. J. Environ. Plan. Manag. 2001, 44, 409–427.
  35. van Grinsven, H.J.M.; van Eerdt, M.M.; Westhoek, H.; Kruitwagen, S. Benchmarking Eco-Efficiency and Footprints of Dutch Agriculture in European Context and Implications for Policies for Climate and Environment. Front. Sustain. Food Syst. 2019, 3, 13.
  36. Vanham, D.; Hoekstra, A.Y.; Wada, Y.; Bouraoui, F.; de Roo, A.; Mekonnen, M.M.; van de Bund, W.J.; Batelaan, O.; Pavelic, P.; Bastiaanssen, W.G.M.; et al. Physical Water Scarcity Metrics for Monitoring Progress towards SDG Target 6.4: An Evaluation of Indicator 6.4.2 “Level of Water Stress”. Sci. Total Environ. 2018, 613–614, 218–232.
  37. Houdart, M.; Tixier, P.; Lassoudière, A.; Saudubray, F. Assessing Pesticide Pollution Risk: From Field to Watershed. Agron. Sustain. Dev. 2009, 29, 321–327.
  38. Pretty, J.; Smith, G.; Goulding, K.W.T.; Groves, S.J.; Henderson, I.; Hine, R.E.; van Oostrum, J.; Pedlington, D.J.; Vis, J.K.; Walter, C. Multi-Year Assessment of Unilever’s Progress towards Agricultural Sustainability I: Indicators, Methodology and Pilot Farm Results. Int. J. Agric. Sustain. 2008, 6, 37–62.
  39. Mehrabi, S.; Perez-Mesa, J.C.; Giagnocavo, C. The Role of Consumer-Citizens and Connectedness to Nature in the Sustainable Transition to Agroecological Food Systems: The Mediation of Innovative Business Models and a Multi-Level Perspective. Agriculture 2022, 12, 203.
  40. Firoozzare, A.; Naghavi, S. Assessing Agri-Environmental Indicators and Pollution Impacts on Environmental Performance Index and Agri-Economic Indicators in EU and ME Countries: A Bayesian Network Based Model. Res. Sq. 2021, 1–16, preprint.
  41. Niemeijer, D.; de Groot, R.S. A Conceptual Framework for Selecting Environmental Indicator Sets. Ecol. Indic. 2008, 8, 14–25.
  42. Niemi, G.J.; McDonald, M.E. Application of Ecological Indicators. Annu. Rev. Ecol. Evol. Syst. 2004, 35, 89–111.
  43. Hák, T.; Janoušková, S.; Moldan, B. Sustainable Development Goals: A need for relevant indicators. Ecological indicators 2016, 60, 565–573.
  44. Dale, V.H.; Beyeler, S.C. Challenges in the Development and Use of Ecological Indicators. Ecol. Indic. 2001, 1, 3–10.
  45. Haines-Young, R.; Potschin, M. The Links between Biodiversity, Ecosystem Services and Human Well-Being. Ecosyst. Ecol. A New Synth. 2010, 1, 110–139.
  46. Reyers, B.; Bidoglio, G.; O’Farrell, P.; Schutyser, F.; Dhar, U.; Gundimeda, H.; Paracchini, M.L.; Prieto, O.G.; Henle, K.; McNeely, J.A. Measuring Biophysical Quantities and the Use of Indicators. In The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity: Ecological and Economic Foundations; Earthscan: London, UK; Washington, DC, USA, 2012; pp. 113–148.
More
© Text is available under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.
Upload a video for this entry
Information
Subjects: Environmental Sciences
Contributors MDPI registered users' name will be linked to their SciProfiles pages. To register with us, please refer to https://encyclopedia.pub/register :
Dacinia Crina Petrescu
,
Ruxandra Malina Petrescu-Mag
,
Alexandru Ozunu
,
Ionut Spanu
View Times: 401
Entry Collection: Environmental Sciences
Revisions: 2 times (View History)
Update Date: 01 Apr 2022
Table of Contents
    1000/1000
    Hot Most Recent
    Video Production Service
    Feedback