Agriculture is a complex system in which the economic principles of production are directly intertwined with its biological and ecological characteristics. The paper investigates synergetic potentials of multiple-criteria and multiple-perspective evaluation of agricultural activity through a study of the dairy sector in Slovenia. Socio-economic and emergy evaluation was performed on nine farm types, formulated to represent the diversity of the country's dairy sector. The results indicate larger discrepancies in the performance of the farm types when defined by socio-economic or emergy based indicators. Standard socio-economic evaluation favours larger conventional systems that are cost efficient and financially independent. Emergy analysis however, favours less productive organic farms, which show greater ability to exploit free local resources and produce less stress on the local environment. Socio-economic and emergy indicators show that small conventional farm types are the poorest performers overall. Analysis of emergy flows reveals for all farm types a high dependency on the wider socio-economic system, suggesting that within the current economic system agriculture itself has little ability to affect its sustainability. The paper suggests a complementarity in the evaluation approaches. Their joint application can improve the quality of the decision-making process in various stages of planning in agriculture and land use.
COBISS.SI-ID: 3440008
A multi-criteria model for a qualitative assessment of the production and marketing of local food products (LFP) from mountain areas has been developed by applying the DEX method. The development of the model was carried out and finally applied to ten local food products. The results were given in the form of a qualitative final assessment of both the production and marketing phases. By applying a plus–minus-1 analysis, the influence of various attributes on the final assessment of the LFP was examined. The main bottlenecks in the production and marketing processes were found.A sensitivity test was used to explain the influence of production and marketing on the final assessment. The results give clear directions as to which of the main attributes must be changed/improved or further developed to enable the successful promotion of local food products, which would give rise to an improved economy in mountain areas
COBISS.SI-ID: 3522348
This book discusses business decision-making modeling in a quality management of brewing raw materials – focused on production and marketing of hops. It elucidates the concept of modeling decision support systems with two case studies, both of which focus on quality management in the hop industry. The areas studied include hop breeding and product quality estimation. The first case study covers the development of a multicriteria model - created by using experimental hop breeding data and its use as a tool by experts to base their decisions on hop breeding and commercial use of hops. The second case study examines the influence of four main weather parameters on the key quality parameters for marketing of hops.
COBISS.SI-ID: 3658028
This study examined the multi-criteria assessment of four dairy products: "Pomursko mlejko" (Pomurje milk), "Lejko mleko" (light milk), "Fyto mleko" (Fyto milk) and "Posneto mleko v prahu" (dried milk). The research was executed by using a multi-criteria methodology, DEX, which was complemented by an econometric analysis for light milk to estimate the trends in production and consumption before analyzed dairy products were implemented on the market. DEXi computer program results indicated that all analyzed milk products were 'above average'. The econometric model was applied to examine changes in the demand for low-fat milk (light milk). Empirical results showed significant consumer response to the increase in the prices of low-fat milk demonstrating income elasticity (1,15 unit).
COBISS.SI-ID: 3719468
The legal framework within which Member States of the European Union may restrict or prohibit the cultivation of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in their territory is currently (March 2015) in the final stages of the legislative process. This brings an upgrade of the existing regulatory framework associated with the use of GMOs, based on the assessment of health and environmental risks. Criteria for decision-making are likely to expanding particularly towards the socio-economic implications of GMO cultivation, internationally legitimate with the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, adopted in 2000 under the UN Convention on Biological Diversity. The agreement on a comprehensive, empirically supported and commonly agreed range of socio-economic factors, which would allow the incorporation of the EU legislative framework, has not yet been reached. Slovenia is stepping into this process with a strongly negative public attitude towards the cultivation of GMOs, with a restrictive legislation in the field of GMO, and with natural and structural conditions, which from the outset restrict the cultivation of GM crops. This chapter attempts to provide a comprehensive and systematic presentation of socio-economic and legal framework and the results of research investigating the socio-economic determinants of GMOs in the European area. On this basis, a set of potentially relevant socio-economic implications of the cultivation of GMOs Slovenia is discussed.
COBISS.SI-ID: 32608349