Economic sustainability of organic aloe vera farming in Greece under risk and uncertainty

Type: Journal Article
Journal title: Sustainability
Year of publication: 2016
Source: AGRERI
Collected from: AGRERI
Subject:
Economical models
products
policies
rural development
agricultural economics
agriculture
agricultural practices
farms
farming systems
sustainable agriculture
alternative agriculture
organic agriculture
Description:

During the last decade, an encouraging environment for the restructuring and modernization of the agricultural sector has formed in Greece. The diversification into higher-value crops can be a promising option for small and average-sized farms, particularly during the current economic crisis. One of the most promising alternative crops that have been recently established in Greece is the organic aloe vera crop. The main advantage of this crop is that it can utilize poor farmlands, and, therefore can facilitate rural development in marginal areas. This study explores the economic sustainability of the aloe vera crop, considering the embedded risk and uncertainty. The results indicate that organic aloe farming is a promising alternative to "traditional" crops in Greece, particularly for family farms in rural areas. In contrast, this activity is not advisable to the most entrepreneurial type of farmers, unless their crop size allows economies of scales. Finally, the Stochastic Efficiency with Respect to a Function (SERF) analysis associates farmers' risk attitude with their willingness to be involved in organic aloe vera farming. SERF analysis highlights the crucial role of farmers’ risk aversion and concludes that, above a certain level of risk aversion, farmers have no incentive to adopt this economic activity.


License: Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY)
 

Related Resources

Biomass Crop Production in Greece: Constraints and Future Recommendations.

Provider: 
Subject: 
plant products
policies
agricultural policies
socioeconomic development
rural development
agricultural economics
farming systems
sustainable agriculture
alternative agriculture

Innovation implementation strategies for consumer driven fruit supply chains

Provider: 
Subject: 
products
agricultural products
socioeconomic development
rural development
agricultural development
economics
agricultural economics
trade
agriculture
agricultural practices

Support for Farmers' Cooperatives-Country Report- Greece

Provider: 
Subject: 
products
agricultural products
animal products
plant products
policies
agricultural policies
socioeconomic development
rural development
agricultural development
economics
cooperatives
agribusiness and cooperatives
agricultural practices
farming systems
cooperative farming

Guidelines for the integration of sustainable agriculture and rural development into agricultural policies

Provider: 
Subject: 
agricultural policies
rural development
policies
sustainable agriculture
agriculture
agriculture
rural development
agricultural policies
agriculture
Collected from: 

SARD-FSE (Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development-Farming Systems Evolution) Project : methodology and lessons learned. Distance learning course. Capacity building material

Provider: 
Subject: 
rural development
sustainable agriculture
agriculture
farming systems
farming systems
agricultural development
rural development
agricultural policies
Collected from: 

Future products for the agriculture and fisheries sectors in Malta

Provider: 
Subject: 
products
agriculture
agricultural development
alternative agriculture
farming systems
Collected from: 

AGRERI Library

Biomass Crop Production in Greece: Constraints and Future Recommendations.

Provider: 
Subject: 
plant products
policies
agricultural policies
socioeconomic development
rural development
agricultural economics
farming systems
sustainable agriculture
alternative agriculture

Innovation implementation strategies for consumer driven fruit supply chains

Provider: 
Subject: 
products
agricultural products
socioeconomic development
rural development
agricultural development
economics
agricultural economics
trade
agriculture
agricultural practices

Support for Farmers' Cooperatives-Country Report- Greece

Provider: 
Subject: 
products
agricultural products
animal products
plant products
policies
agricultural policies
socioeconomic development
rural development
agricultural development
economics
cooperatives
agribusiness and cooperatives
agricultural practices
farming systems
cooperative farming

External Library

Guidelines for the integration of sustainable agriculture and rural development into agricultural policies

Provider: 
Subject: 
agricultural policies
rural development
policies
sustainable agriculture
agriculture
agriculture
rural development
agricultural policies
agriculture
Collected from: 

SARD-FSE (Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development-Farming Systems Evolution) Project : methodology and lessons learned. Distance learning course. Capacity building material

Provider: 
Subject: 
rural development
sustainable agriculture
agriculture
farming systems
farming systems
agricultural development
rural development
agricultural policies
Collected from: 

Future products for the agriculture and fisheries sectors in Malta

Provider: 
Subject: 
products
agriculture
agricultural development
alternative agriculture
farming systems
Collected from: