A Study of The Contribution of Multifuncional Agriculture for Sustainable Rural Development

Abstract

This paper purports to discuss how the multifunctionality of agriculture - which is a view of agriculture as an activity that is not only economic but also environmental, social and cultural - could be incorporated in public and private strategies in order to achieve a rural sustainable development and a bigger income to the farmer. Therefore, the research problem is how the integration of the concept would be a strategy to meet the needs of fibre, energy and food production while maintaining sustainability in agriculture. At first a bibliography research was carried out, approaching the concepts of multifuncionality of agriculture and positive externalities; subsequently an empirical research was done, through a case study whose aim was to replicate a method to access the multifuncionality of agriculture in the city of Cunha (SP). The multifunctional agriculture generates positive externalities but, generally, the farmer is not paid for the social benefits of its production. For that reason, metrics are needed to assess the impact generated by the multifunctional agriculture so the farmer gets paid for the social services that arises from its production. As soon as the farmer gets paid for the positive outcome he/she is generating, we will get an agricultural model that is more aligned to rural sustainable development.