International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability
International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability 4 (2006) 213–232
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A pluralistic economics methodology for analysing landrace conservation on farms: a case study of Hungarian home gardens
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Györgyi Bela1, Ekin Birol2 and Melinda Smale3
1Institute of Environmental and Landscape Management, St. István University, Páter Károly, Gödöllő, Hungary, 2Department of Land Economy and Homerton College, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK and 3International Food Policy Research Institute, Washington, DC, USA. When this research was conducted: Biodiversity International (formerly International Plant Genetic Resources Institute), Via dei Tre Denari 472/a, 00057 Maccarese (Fiumicino), Rome, Italy
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Abstract
Crop landraces contribute to food security and agricultural research that supports productivity or enhances product quality. The few extant landraces still grown in Hungary are found in home gardens, which are subsistence-oriented, small-scale family farms managed with traditional practices. A pluralistic economics methodology was developed to analyse the prospects of including landraces and home gardens in Hungary's National Rural Development Plan. The methodology draws from three fields of economic inquiry: institutional economics, environmental economics and agricultural economics. Data were collected using qualitative and quantitative approaches from over 300 farmers across 22 communities in three regions. This paper summarizes the methodology and highlights its advantages. A synopsis of findings is also reported.
Keywords: Landraces, home gardens, Hungary, methodological pluralism, stakeholder analysis, choice experiment, farm households model
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