This paper discusses how environmental indicators and multicriteria methodologies can support the ex post evaluation of Agri-Environmental Schemes. The paper is based on information from the Mid term evaluation of the Rural Development Programmes and develops around an example that compares...

The rural areas in Bulgaria cover more then 80% of the country territory and account for about 29% of the population. Their development depends strongly on agricultural sector. The paper examines structural changes in agriculture, labour market situation in rural areas and presents the main...

In the last hundred years, great changes have taken place in the farming systems all over the world. They were economically driven and beneficial but they also lead to a range of negative side effects. At the same time consumer awareness regarding food quality and safety grew, together with...

The market of organic products in Bulgaria enlarged significantly in the last few years. Although the share of organic food products in general food market in the country is relatively small-less than 5 %, the total area under organic products in Bulgaria/cultivated and wild collected/ is more...

In order to measure agriculture sustainability, the efficient use of inputs becomes a crucial issue. In this perspective, the analysts concentrate their attention on the total factor productivity index (TFP). In this view, Lynam and Herdt (1989) proposed the TFP as a suitable assessment of the...

The paper focuses on the competitiveness of organic horticultural farms implementing short food supply chain (SFSC), by analysing the organisational structures adopted by farmers and their economic performance. The collection of data based on face to face interviews with farmers and the review...

The food chain concept is an increasingly common theoretical instrument for food and rural development policy and many countries adopt the so-called “new rural paradigm”, so to integrate different sectoral policies. This paper aims at adopting the food chain paradigm in order to analyse the...

The aim of the paper is to analyse patterns of value system sharing along food chains, so to explore the agro-food enterprises capacity to be competitive and sustainable. The research focused on three food chains: potato, fruit, and Grana cheese of Emilia Romagna region. The paper adopts the...

The objective of this paper is to analyse the role that European countries’ institutional relations and economic policies have in improving the competitiveness, sustainable development and structural adjustments of farms and agro-food economy in Turkey by supporting sustainable and...