MODEL-BASED EXPLORATIONS TO SUPPORT DEVELOPMENT OF SUSTAINABLE FARMING SYSTEMS - CASE-STUDIES FROM FRANCE AND THE NETHERLANDS

Sustainable land use requires development of agricultural production s ystems that, in addition to economic objectives, contribute to objecti ves in areas such as environment, health and well-bring, rural scenery and nature. Since these objectives are at least partially conflicting , development of sustainable fanning systems is characterized by negot iation about acceptable compromises among objectives. Four phases can be distinguished in the course of farming systems development: diagnos is, design, testing and improvement, and dissemination. During the las t decade an approach coined 'prototyping' has emerged as a promising m ethod for empirical farming systems development in Western Europe. Lim itations of the approach include: (1) the limited number of systems th at can be evaluated, resulting in a lack of perspective on conflicts a mong objectives, and (2) the expertise-based nature of rules used duri ng systems design which unduly narrows the range of available options and obscures understanding of systems behaviour. In the paper, explora tive studies based on transparent models of agronomy and management ar e put forward to supplement empirical prototyping and to remedy its sh ortcomings. To illustrate the potential of model-based explorations, t wo case studies are presented. The first case study deals with diagnos is and design of wheat based rotations in the Paris Basin of France, a imed at alleviating tactical problems of poor resource-use efficiency within the constraints imposed by existing crop rotations. The second case study addresses design of sustainable bulb-based farming systems in the Netherlands with the purpose of investigating strategic options at crop rotation and farm level to resolve conflicts between economic and environmental objectives. In the discussion, methodological eleme nts of model-based explorations and interaction with stakeholders are addressed, and opportunities for enhanced development of sustainable f arming systems are identified. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.