Agricultural entrepreneurship and sustainability â is it a good or bad fit?

C.C. de Lauwere

Agricultural entrepreneurship and sustainability â is it a good or bad fit?

äºEthical futures: bioscience and food horizons

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C.C. de Lauwere

C.C. de Lauwere Agricultural Economics Research Institute of Wageningen UR, P.O. Box 35, 6700 AA Wageningen, the Netherlands; carolien.delauwere@wur.nl

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Page Range:: 211â216

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.3920/9789086866731_035

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In todayâs Dutch agriculture emphasis is put on entrepreneurship, social responsibility and sustainability. But do these fit together? In economic theories entrepreneurs are seen as movers of the markets, seekers of profit opportunities and innovators. Not all farmers however meet these conditions and if they do, there is no guarantee that this goes with socially responsible entrepreneurship and sustainability. In a sociological explorative study a multiform group of 20 pig and 21 dairy farmers â both male and female â were asked about their views on animal welfare and other features of sustainable farming. The group consisted of conventional, organic and free range farmers with different farming styles. Their farms varied in levels of scale, intensity, degree of specialization and participation in quality assurance schemes. In the in-depth interviews, it became clear that the farmers focus on different aspects of sustainability and that multi-dimensional sustainability is not a self-evident aim for all farmers. An economically viable farm is important for all farmers, although farmers with idealist motives stress this aspect less than other farmers. Social sustainability at the level of the farm (work load and schedule, division of tasks, balance work/ family life/ social life) is accentuated by conventional farmers on large scaled specialized farms. At a higher level of social sustainability (fair trade, fair prices, poverty reduction), in particular organic and biodynamic farmers stress that farmers have to take the responsibility to contribute to social equity. The latter group puts also emphasis on their responsibility towards the ecosystem. They, for instance, focus on sustainable cattle, mineral management and nature and landscape conservation. The interviewed large scale conventional farmers on the other hand, see energy production as a potentially profitable option to contribute to ecological sustainability. This means that agricultural entrepreneurs do not âautomaticallyâ take all aspects of sustainability â people, planet and profit â into account. Policy makers who think they can stimulate sustainable agriculture by promoting agricultural entrepreneurship should be aware of this.

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Ethical futures: bioscience and food horizons

ISBN:: 9789086866731

åºçç¤¾:: Wageningen Academic

å°å·åºçæ¥æ:: 30 Oct 2009

Subjects
- Life Sciences

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Agricultural entrepreneurship and sustainability â is it a good or bad fit?

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Ethical futures: bioscience and food horizons

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Agricultural entrepreneurship and sustainability â is it a good or bad fit?

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