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Sustainability Assessment of Organic Vegetable Production Using a Qualitative Multi-Attribute Model

2018; Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute; Volume: 10; Issue: 10 Linguagem: Inglês

10.3390/su10103820

2071-1050

Ileana Iocola, Gabriele Campanelli, Mariangela Diacono, Fabrizio Leteo, Francesco Montemurro, Alessandro Persiani, Stefano Canali,

Agriculture Sustainability and Environmental Impact

Organic agriculture is perceived as environmentally sustainable, but, under its umbrella, different production systems exist ranging from simplified organic productions to well diversified systems with a full implementation of agro-ecological approaches. Among several developed tools for agriculture sustainability assessment, multi-criteria models are increasingly gaining importance. In this study, we evaluated the use of the multi-criteria DEXi-BIOrt tool, coupled with data from long-term experiments, for the sustainability assessment of different organic vegetable production scenarios. These scenarios were applied in two Italian areas: the Adriatic coast of Marche Region and the Metaponto plan of Basilicata Region. Despite the presence of some critical issues, DEXI-BIOrt proved to be a valid tool for the sustainability evaluation of organic vegetable productions. In both areas, the most sustainable scenarios resulted the well diversified organic systems characterized by proper rotations, inclusion of agro-ecological service crops, cultivation of local and different cultivars, and presence of short supply chain mechanisms. Conversely, the implementation of the simplified organic substitution scenarios does not guarantee a suitable level of sustainability. The findings of this study could support decision makers in the implementation of appropriate measures for enhancing organic production sustainability in the framework of post-2020 Common Agricultural Policy.