Special Issue "Economic Profitability and Agriculture Sustainable Development"

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 August 2021).

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Yolanda Martínez Martínez
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Economic Analysis, Universidad de Zaragoza, Zaragoza 50009, Spain
Interests: bioeconomic models; impact of agriculture on the environment (non-point pollution); economic evaluation of agricultural systems; irrigation water management; water ecosystem services

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The concept of sustainability applied to agriculture means not only preserving the environment and natural resources, but also seeking economic profitability for agricultural products and producing healthy food for present and future generations at prices that are reasonable for consumers. In this spirit, production systems have been developed that seek the label of organic, alternative, sustainable, low-input, regenerative or agroecological.

The implementation of the sustainability paradigm by the institutions involved in the governance of the sector has led to the introduction of more demanding regulations regarding the environmental impacts of the sector. However, the transition to new agricultural practices often requires institutional support through subsidies and other public support that calls into question their real economic profitability in the short and long term.

It is also necessary to develop studies that quantify the level of economic profitability of the sector and compare it with those of other sectors of the economy.

The aim of this Special Issue is to present original research papers in the field of sustainable agriculture, especially from an economic perspective. In this Special Issue, we seek original work that focuses on addressing the new challenges of sustainability, economically evaluating more sustainable agricultural techniques/systems and more environmentally friendly technological solutions for agriculture and livestock.

Studies that propose the economic analysis of policies linked to the promotion of agricultural sustainability and those that measure/compare sustainability from an economic perspective are also welcome.

Specific topics include but are not limited to the following:

- Economic evaluation of new agricultural and livestock management practices;

- Policy tools to encourage the adoption of sustainable practices;

- Evaluation of agricultural systems/techniques based on field experiments;

- Proposals for measuring and comparing sustainability (in time and space).

Dr. Yolanda Martínez Martínez
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • agricultural systems
  • economic evaluation
  • short- and long-term profitability
  • policies to support sustainable agriculture

Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

Article
The Use of Hydromulching as an Alternative to Plastic Films in an Artichoke (Cynara cardunculus cv. Symphony) Crop: A Study of the Economic Viability
Sustainability 2021, 13(9), 5313; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13095313 - 10 May 2021
Viewed by 568
Abstract
The use of mulching in agriculture suppresses the weeds around crop plants, enhances the nutrients status of soil, controls the soil structure and temperature, and reduces soil water evaporation. Excessive use of low-density polyethylene mulches is contributing to the accumulation of high amounts [...] Read more.
The use of mulching in agriculture suppresses the weeds around crop plants, enhances the nutrients status of soil, controls the soil structure and temperature, and reduces soil water evaporation. Excessive use of low-density polyethylene mulches is contributing to the accumulation of high amounts of plastic wastes, an environmental problem for agricultural ecosystems. Fragments of plastic from such wastes can be found in soils, in water resources, and in organisms, including humans. The objective of this work was to study the economic viability of the use of different hydromulches in an artichoke crop. Three blends were prepared by mixing paper pulp (recycled from used paper) and cardboard (from paper mills) with different additives: wheat straw (WS), rice hulls (RH), and substrate used for mushroom cultivation (MS). These were compared with low-density polyethylene (Pe), a treatment without mulching on bare soil where hand weeding was performed (HW), and a treatment without mulching on bare soil where herbicide was applied (H). The results indicate that the use of hydromulch in an artichoke crop represents a good alternative for reducing plastic waste in agriculture. The net profits of the hydromulch treatments (MS, WS, RH) were higher than for HW and H, and slightly lower than for Pe. The most profitable treatment was Pe (€0.69 m−3), followed by RH (€0.59 m−3), WS (€0.58 m−3), MS (€0.47 m−3), HW (€0.36 m−3), and H (€0.32 m−3). A sensitivity analysis showed a probability of negative results of 0.04 in Pe, 0.13 in SM, 0.08 in WS, and 0.07 in RH, so the probability that the grower will make a profit is greater than 0.9 with the use of mulch (except mushroom substrate) or polyethylene. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Economic Profitability and Agriculture Sustainable Development)
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