Methods and Procedures for Building Sustainable Farming Systems: Application in the European Context [Paperback]

Showing how the method of sustainability assessment plays a key role in choosing the best agricultural productive mode, this book guides the reader through the process of selecting, from among the various approaches for building farming systems, the method of decision-making that will result in the most appropriate outcome, given the context. Case studies hail from polities as diverse as Portugal and Canada, Argentina and Lebanon. The work thus offers a valuable critical survey of the assessment methods that account for sustainability and economics, and which have developed considerably in the last two decades. The heterogeneous approaches covered here make this volume appropriate for consultation in a wide variety of social, political and geographical contexts.

Acknowledgments.- Preface.-1. The Needs for Building Sustainable Farming Systems: Issues and Scope.- Part I European Context for Sustainability Assessment Of Farming Systems.-2. Agricultural and Environmental Policies in the European Union.-3. Approaches for Sustainable Farming Systems Assessment.- Part II Multiple Aspects to Develop Methodologies for Sustainability Assessment of Farming Systems.-4. Normative, Systemic and Procedural Aspects: A Review of Indicator-Based Sustainability Assessments in Agriculture.-5. Assessing the Sustainability of Activity Systems to Support Households Farming Projects.-6. Multilevel and Multi-User Sustainability Assessment of Farming Systems.-Part III??? Application of Methodologies for Sustainability Assessment of Farming Systems in Real Contexts.-8. Learning and Experimentation Strategy (LES). Outline of a Method to Develop Sustainable Livestock Production Systems.-8. Factors Affecting the Implementation of Measures for Improving Sustainability on Farms Following the Rise Sustainability Evaluation.-9. A Multi-Attribute Decision Method for Assessing the Overall Sustainability of Crop Protection Strategies: A Case Study Based on Apple Production in Europe.- Part IV l3¤