Economic and Environmental Assessment of Optimizing Management in Orchards
A special issue of Agriculture (ISSN 2077-0472). This special issue belongs to the section "Agricultural Economics, Policies and Rural Management".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 March 2026 | Viewed by 25
Special Issue Editor
Interests: economic competitiveness of orchards; economic profitability of orchards; impact of agricultural policy; environmental footprint of agri-food products; mitigation of GHG; short supply chains; organic fertilization; valorization of agri-food wastes; optimization of inputs
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
In line with the twelfth Sustainable Development Goal (SDG), “Responsible Consumption and Production”, ensuring food security requires decoupling economic growth from environmental degradation by increasing resource-use efficiency and promoting sustainable lifestyles (United Nations). In this context, agriculture represents a key focus of European policies aimed at halting environmental degradation.
These strategies include environmental commitments such as reducing the use of pesticides and fertilizers, increasing the area dedicated to organic farming and protected natural spaces, minimizing food waste, and reversing the decline in pollinator populations. The Farm to Fork Strategy also emphasizes social and economic dimensions, aiming to ensure access to nutritious, affordable, and environmentally responsible food in sufficient quantities, while improving product transparency through labeling.
Financial and economic analysis, as well as environmental assessment methodologies, such as Life Cycle Costing (LCC) and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), are increasingly applied to evaluate the economic and environmental performance of orchards. The combination of these tools has proven useful in assessing the sustainability of agricultural production systems, as quantifying both productive and environmental costs allows the identification of economically viable scenarios with minimal environmental impact.
Scientific evidence is crucial for supporting key decision-making processes that aim to improve the sustainability of orchard production systems. This Special Issue aims to include contributions addressing socio-economic and environmental aspects in the broader transition toward sustainable production, through various main topics such as:
- Technical, socio-economic, and environmental characterization of sustainable production systems.
- Adaptation of production systems to climate change, mitigation, and biodiversity conservation through plant material selection.
- Improvement in the management and use of productive resources (irrigation water, fertilizers, pesticides, biological control, etc.).
- Utilization of agricultural and forestry residues for biogas and compost production linked to agri-food industry activities.
- Valorization of livestock and agricultural waste within the agri-food production chain.
- Application of organic fertilizers as substitutes for synthetic inorganic fertilizers in orchards.
Dr. José García
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- economic competitiveness of orchards
- economic profitability of orchards
- impact of agricultural policy
- environmental footprint of agri-food products
- mitigation of GHG
- short supply chains
- organic fertilization
- valorization of agri-food wastes
- optimization of inputs
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