ERASMUS IP Program
19 June – 2 July 2011, Szent Istvan University, Godollo,
Hungary
M ULTIFUNCTIONAL AGRICULTURE
AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
Assoc. Professor Dr. Diana Kopeva
University of National and World Economy (UNWE)
2
S TRUCTURE
OF
THE
PRESENTATION

The concept of multifunctionality

The concept of sustainable
development

Where and how these two concepts
are overlapped

Future of multifunctional agriculture

Group work
M ULTIFUNCTIONALITY OR
3
M ULTIFUNCTIONAL AGRICULTURE

The term “Multifunctionality of Agriculture” (MFA)
covers a wide range of different perceptions in research
literature today

Multifunctionality is intended to call attention to the
positive “goods” that agriculture can produce beyond the
food and fiber that farmers sell in the marketplace

The positive goods can be defined very widely

Important to note that the concept of multifunctionality
does not imply that these goods accrue automatically, as
inevitable outcomes of any and all approaches to farming

These outcomes vary widely based on farming practices,
farm size, farm location (by country, ecoregion, and local
environment) and interaction of these variables
S PECIFIC A SPECTS OF
M ULTIFUNCTIONAL A GRICULTURE
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
Viable Rural Communities

Environmental Benefits

Food Security

Landscape Values

Food Quality and Safety

Animal Welfare
E VOLUTION OF THE
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CONCEPT

1992 – Rio Earth Summit – the term “multifunctional agriculture”
emerged on the international stage
“. . .multifunctional aspect of agriculture, particularly with regard to food
security and sustainable development.” (Agenda 21, Chapter 14)

1998 – OECD countries – expanded the idea of the Rio Earth Summit
“Beyond its primary function of producing food and fibre,
agricultural activity can also shape the landscape, provide
environmental benefits such as land conservation, the
sustainable management of renewable natural resources and
the preservation of biodiversity, and contribute to the socioeconomic viability of many rural areas. Agriculture is
multifunctional when it has one or several functions in addition
to its primary role of producing food and fibre.” (OECD
Declaration of Agricultural Ministers Committee)
E VOLUTION OF THE
CONCEPT (2)
6

1998 – Multifunctional agriculture and the review of the
GATT Agreement on Agriculture (AoA) mandated for 1999

Two big conferences focusing on that issue and
contraversial opinions

November 1999, FAO Conference “The Multifunctional
Character of Agriculture and Land”, Maastricht, The
Netherlands
<http://www.fao.org/docrep/meeting/X3577e.htm>

July 2000, conference on Non-Trade Concerns (NTCs) in
Agriculture held in Ullensvang, Norway
<http://www.prosi.net/press8.htm>
E VOLUTION OF THE
CONCEPT (3)
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
OECD Definition

FAO concept

EU concept
W HAT IS AGRARIAN
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MULTIFUNCTIONALITY
Two domains of agrarian multifunctionality:

a) The analytical one or activity oriented concept
(OECD):
It describes the characteristics of farm production, the
outcomes from land uses and the joint-production,
focusing on these relationships

b) The normative domain or policy-oriented concept
(FAO and EU):
It is considered as a policy instrument of rural
development
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Two approaches to the analysis of Multifunctionality:

MF as a characteristic of economic activity - the
particular characteristic that makes an economic
activity multifunctional are its multiple, interconnected
outputs or effects



MF interpreted in this way is not specific to agriculture
This view can be termed the positive concept of MF
MF in terms of multiple roles assigned to agriculture



Agriculture as an activity is entrusted with fulfilling
certain functions in society
MF is not merely a characteristic of the production
process, it takes on a value in itself
This view can be termed the normative concept of MF
P OSITIVISTIC / ACTIVITY
ORIENTED / ANALYTICAL
CONCEPT: OECD
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
Multifunctionality, or multifunctional agriculture are terms
used to indicate generally that agriculture can produce various
non-commodity outputs in addition to food

The working definition of multifunctionality used by the OECD
associates multifunctionality with particular characteristics of
the agricultural production process and its outputs:

the existence of multiple commodity and non-commodity
outputs that are jointly produced by agriculture

that some of the non-commodity outputs may exhibit the
characteristics of externalities or public goods, such that markets
for these goods function poorly or are non-existent
OECD, 2001
T HE NATURE OF JOINTNESS
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IN AGRICULTURE

Joint production refers to the situation where a firm
produces two or more outputs that are interlinked, so
that an increase or decrease of supply of one output
affects the levels of the others

Three reasons for jointness can be distinguished:

Technical interdependencies in the production process

Non – allocable inputs

Allocable inputs that are fixed at the firm level
T HE NATURE OF JOINTNESS IN
AGRICULTURE – T ECHNICAL
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INTERDEPENDENCIES

Many of the negative non-commodity outputs of
agriculture, as of:






Soil erosion
Chemical residuals
Nutrient leaching
Greenhouse gas emissions
Problems of animal welfare
Positive non-commodity outputs:


Pest controlling effects of certain cropping patterns
used in integrated pest management
Crop rotation effect on soil productivity and nutrient
balances
T HE NATURE OF JOINTNESS
IN AGRICULTURE – N ON -
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ALLOCABLE INPUTS

Non allocable inputs = multiple outputs from the same
input

Eggs, poultry meat, feather

Mutton, wool, milk

Production of meat and manure

Terraced paddy fields

Alpine pastures with cows

These joint outputs are rarely produced in fixed
proportions and those proportions can be modified by
using different production methods

Many output linkages can be attributed either to technical
or to non-allocable inputs (like food and landscape )
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T HE NATURE OF JOINTNESS IN
AGRICULTURE – ALLOCABLE INPUTS

Allocable inputs are available at firm level in a fixed
amount and are allocated to the various outputs in the
production process

An increase/decrease in the production of one output
changes the amount of the factor available for the
supply of the others

Farmland and self-employed labour are allocable
factors
S USTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
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
The most frequently quoted definition is from Our Common
Future, also known as the Brundtland Report:
"Sustainable development is development that meets the needs
of the present without compromising the ability of future
generations to meet their own needs. It contains within it
two key concepts:
the concept of needs, in particular the essential needs of the
world's poor, to which overriding priority should be given;
and
the idea of limitations imposed by the state of technology and
social organization on the environment's ability to meet
present and future needs.“
S USTAINABLE D EVELOPMENT
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
Meeting the needs of the future depends on how well
we balance social, economic, and environmental
objectives--or needs--when making decisions today
Social
Equity
Participation
Social Mobility
Cultural Preservation
Services
Household Needs
Industrial Growth
Agricultural Growth
Efficient use of Labor
Biodiversity
Natural Resources
Ecosystem Integrity
Clean Air and Water
E CONOMIC S USTAINABILITY
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
Economic policies typically seek to increase
conventional gross national product (GNP), and induce
more efficient production and consumption of (mainly
marketed) goods and services

The modern concept underlying economic sustainability
seeks to maximize the flow of income that could be
generated while at least maintaining the stock of assets
(or capital ) which yield this income
S OCIAL S USTAINABILITY
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
Reducing vulnerability and maintaining the health
(i.e., resilience, vigor and organization) of social and
cultural systems, and their ability to withstand shocks

Enhancing human capital (through education) and
strengthening social values, institutions and equity
will improve the resilience of social systems and
governance
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E NVIRONMENTAL S USTAINABILITY

Modern economies have only recently acknowledged
the need to manage scarce natural resources in a
prudent manner – because human welfare ultimately
depends on ecological services

The environmental interpretation of sustainability
focuses on the overall viability and health of living
systems – defined in terms of a comprehensive, multiscale, dynamic, hierarchical measure of resilience,
vigor and organization
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S USTAINABLE R URAL
D EVELOPMENT
"Sustainable development is the management and
conservation of the natural resources base, and the
orientation of technological and institutional change
in such a manner as to ensure the attainment and
continued satisfaction of human needs for present and
future generations.
Such sustainable development in the agriculture, forestry
and fisheries sectors conserves land, water, plant and
animal genetic resources, is environmentally nondegrading, technically appropriate, economically
viable and socially acceptable."
(FAO, 1988)
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Scheme of sustainable development: at the confluence of three constituent parts
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
Multifunctional agriculture &
Sustainable Development
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EUROPE 2020: MFA AND
SD
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
Sustainable growth Initiative -

Rural Development Policy – 3 axes
for a
resource efficient, greener and more competitive
economy



improving the competitiveness of the agricultural and
forestry sector;
improving the environment and the countryside;
improving the quality of life in rural areas and
encouraging diversification of the rural economy
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Example :
Chain of policy implementation: Fund CAP / Programme Rural Development / Priority
axis XXX / measure XXX / local development strategy/ projet- operation
Within a specific area (local area), how many farmers, what type of farms and where
will be impacted by project - operation (s) implementation? Knowing that farmers act
within a local context where the behavior of other actors (consumers, Ngos, … will
have an influence on their choices. Consequently , necessity to know and modelize
actor behaviors. This will be done at the scale of implementation of project or operation
( local scale) but with necessity to aggregate population dynamics at regional level;
remenber that we are supposed to check results with those obtained with aggregated
models.
In a second step we will have to measure the impact of population dynamics on the
different functions provided by the sector. By this way we can assess the impact in
terms of multifunctionality and implement or improve SIAT and other databases.
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European level
CAP/ European Agricultural Fund for Rural
Development/Priorities/
Programmes
National level
Measures
Regional level
Operation /projects
Impacts on
Food
Services
…
Production function
Local level
Cultural function
Economy
Employment function
Agriculture
Forestry
Society
Spatial function
Tourism
Biodiversity
Protection function
Environment
Ecosystem function
T HANK YOU FOR YOUR
ATTENTION !
Associate Professor Dr. Diana Kopeva
Department “Economics of Natural Resources”
Business faculty
University of National and World Economy
Sofia
diana_kopeva@yahoo.com
dkopeva@unwe.acad.bg
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