Tag: organic agriculture

The raging debate on organic versus conventional agriculture, and with regard to the aspect of productivity in particular, is far from conclusive. In this analysis, we explore the productivity comparison further through the evaluation of a common production technology used in 74 countries around the world, over the period 2005 to 2014. We found conventional agriculture to be more productive than organic agriculture. Whilst productivity of conventional agriculture is exponentially rising, that of organic is declining, although it has a quadratic growth path. For every hectare of conventional agricultural land given up, only 0.54 hectares of organic land area is substituted. Based on an elasticity of substitution of 0.36, the isoquant is relatively vertical; therefore, much more conventional lands need to be substituted with an organic land area. Research into new and improved fertilising and pest control methods is essential as positive developments there would have a significant impact on organic land productivity.

This article examines the variations in mean technical efficiency estimates in organic agriculture and the factors that explain the observed variations. A three-stage process was employed in data collection. Firstly, journals on organic agriculture and related disciplines were identified and searched. Secondly, several publishers’ websites and databases, namely Cambridge Journals, Elsevier, Emerald, Oxford University Press, Sage, Taylor and Francis, and Wiley, among others, were covered. Databases included AgEcon Search, CAB Abstracts, DOAJ, EBSCOhost, Google Scholar and ScienceDirect. Thirdly, the reference lists of studies found in the first and second stages were searched to identify additional literature. In all, 42 studies constituting 109 observations published in the period 2002-2014 were found. Unlike existing literature on technical efficiency quantitative reviews in agriculture, this article employs a battery of tests to select the appropriate solution for multiple observations from the same primary study, as well as the appropriate functional form for the selected fractional regression model. The mean technical efficiency of organic agriculture for the period of study and the effects of other study characteristics are thoroughly discussed.