Abstract
Traditional agriculture produces high greenhouse gas emissions and uses fossil fuels fertilizers and agrochemicals that corroborate climate change, deforestation, soil contamination, and biodiversity loss. On the other hand, organic agriculture and bioeconomy principles seek to promote sustainability by embracing environmental and social causes. The principles of bioeconomy encourage the rational use of recyclable nutrients and the transformation of conventional systems into sustainable ones to minimize environmental impact. The aim of this study was to understand how the principles of bioeconomy are inserted and if it is generating socioenvironmental benefits for Brazilian organic farmers. Participatory rural appraisals were conducted at organic farming properties in the Vale do Rio do Sinos region, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, and generated coefficients were inserted into an environmental impact assessment system. The average socioenvironmental impact index score obtained was 7.6 (on a criteria scale of −15 to + 15). Overall, our research revealed social and environmental impacts (average score of 7.7 and 3.6, respectively), directly related to the improvement in soil quality, preservation of the environment, and conservation of biodiversity. These elements also contributed to increasing impact in income specialization, management, administration, and consumer respect. Negative index impact was related to energy consumption and water quality (−3.8 and −0.1, respectively), due to the self-reliance on fossil fuel-powered machinery and cross-contamination. Bioeconomic principles applied by Brazilian organic farmers generated a positive socioenvironmental impact. Nevertheless, there is still a need for more assistance with a bioeconomy approach, the implementation of cleaner technologies, and the independence of external vendors with no organic guarantees.
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The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
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Fritzen Cidón, C., Schreiber, D. & Schmitt Figueiró, P. Bioeconomics applied to organic agriculture enhance social and environmental impact of Brazilian properties. Environ Dev Sustain (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-023-03718-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-023-03718-8