A Multi-Criteria Analysis of Sustainability Effects of Increasing Concentrate Intensity in Swedish Milk Production 1989–1999 |
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Authors: | Stefan Hellstrand |
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Institution: | (1) Department of Ecology and Crop Production Science, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SE - 750 07 Uppsala, Sweden |
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Abstract: | The concept of sustainable development is forcing standard economic analysis to acknowledge and address the existence of dimensions
of performance, which are not reducible to monetary accounting. In particular, the implementation of this concept in practice
requires: (a) the simultaneous handling of indicators developed in different disciplinary fields; and (b) an approach more
related to the procedures adopted by consultants (Participatory Integrated Analysis), rather than theoretical academic analysis
looking for ‘the’ optimal solution. The case study considered in this paper is a multi-criteria analysis of changes, which
occurred in the Swedish milk production sector for the period 1989–1999. Multi-criteria impact matrices and multi-criteria
representations are used to provide a transparent method of integrated analysis. Changes are characterized and quantified
in a way that makes it possible to relate the impact of existing trends in relation to different sub-objectives (variation
in performance in relation to social, economic and ecological indicators). The results of this analysis confirm a few well
known predicaments of sustainability associated with agriculture. The growth of Sweden economy is driving a major increase
in material throughputs within its agricultural sector. The need of increasing agricultural throughput (especially labour
productivity) has moved the Swedish dairy sector in a clear situation of decreasing marginal return ( = large increases in
inputs are not reflected in a proportional increase in output). Therefore, sound policies of development of this sector aimed
at increasing the goal of sustainability have to be developed by considering several indicators of performance, and not only
economic variables. |
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Keywords: | integrated assessment milk production sector multi-criteria analysis sustainable animal production Sweden |
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