Sustainability and Energy Economics in Agriculture—2nd Edition

Dear Colleagues,

Sustainable rural development requires balance between both sustainable agriculture and the sustainable energy sector in rural areas. While there can be complementary issues between both, there can also be trade-offs between them, as seen when sustainable agriculture provides food security and the energy sector demands agricultural and forestry resources. Food security and energy security with a transition towards clean energy are objectives that cannot be achieved without investments and efficiency in the use of limited agricultural, forestry, and other rural area resources. With increasing demand for both food and energy, there is greater pressure on natural resources and a greater demand for clean energy derived from the sun, wind, heat, tides, waves, biomass, bioresources, and other alternative energy sources, including agricultural produce. To resolve complex questions and sometimes conflicting interests, interdisciplinary technological, regulatory, policy, landscape, environmental, societal, economic, cultural, and other challenges regarding the effects of the energy sector on agriculture, forestry, rural areas, and their bioresources must be resolved. The challenging question is how to achieve energy security at affordable costs and prices without compromising on food security, environmental protection, and agreement between stakeholders in rural areas.

Authors are invited to submit empirical, methodological, and theoretical research on links between agriculture, forestry, rural areas, energy, and other socioeconomic activities. Perspectives from multiple disciplines are welcome, including science and technology; economics, management, and social sciences; and public and scientific studies on democratic societies in relation to sustainability and energy economics in agriculture. The following themes are welcome:

• The agricultural land and energy sectors.
• The forest land and energy sectors.
• The sustainable agriculture and energy sectors.
• Regulatory and policy issues.
• Environmental and landscape issues.
• Societal, local stakeholder, and citizen issues.
• Economic, agricultural economics, and energy economics issues.
• Technological issues.
• Top-down vs bottom-up approaches.
• Food security and energy generation.
• Ecological issues in energy generation.
• Climate change and energy.
• Sustainable agriculture and climate change.
• Agri-food systems in the circular economy.
• Politics of food security and energy consideration.

Prof. Dr. Štefan Bojnec
Guest Editor

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