CC BY
14
ISSN 1728-2667
EKOHOMIKA. 5(200)/2018
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Bulletin of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv. Economics, 2018; 5(200): 75-76
Book title: Sustainability of Farming Enterprises in Bulgaria
Author: Hrabrin Bachev Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing
Published: August 1, 2018 Hardback: 230 pages(A5)
Language: English ISBN (10): 1-5275-1126-X ISBN (13): 978-1-5275-1126-2
Around the globe understanding and assessment of sustainability of farming enterprises is among the most topical academic and practical issues. At the current stage of development and reformation of European agriculture the question about the level of sustainability of different types of farming enterprises is particularly topical during implementation of the European Union Common Agricultural Policy (EU CAP). Despite that, still there is no consensus on "what is sustainability of farming enterprises", "what is the relation between farm and agrarian sustainability", "which are the critical factors of farm sustainability", and "how to evaluate sustainability level of farming enterprises". There are numerous suggested and used frameworks for sustainability assessment applying an "universal" approach to "faceless" farming enterprises, without taking into consideration their environment. A great number of these assessment systems is practically unused by the farmers and managerial bodies due to difficulty in their understanding and application.
Recently published book "Sustainability of Farming Enterprises in Bulgaria" by one of the biggest academic publisher in the world comes to respond to the great theoretical and practical needs for modern understanding and assessment of sustainability of farming enterprises. It is among the few in-depth studies trying to give comprehensive insight on sustainability of farming enterprises in the contemporary world. The monograph is a result of long-term research done by an internationally recognized expert in the area - Professor Hrabrin Bachev of the Institute of Agricultural Economics in Sofia, Bulgaria.
In this book the author suggests a practical and holistic approach for assessing sustainability of farming enterprises in the conditions of EU CAP implementation in Bulgaria. He extends his previous research on agrarian governance and sustainability, incorporates the latter developments in the area, and suggests an interdisciplinary, holistic and practical approach for assessing sustainability of farming enterprises. Particularly, he successfully includes a "new" important governance and institutional aspects in the overall sustainability assessment. Well-elaborated system for assessing sustainability of farming enterprises for the specific Bulgarian conditions includes 12 principles, 21 criteria, and 45 indicators, and reference values. Presented novel approach is more comprehensive, easy to understand and facile to use in everyday managerial practice than other available systems in the country and internationally.
Furthermore, the author goes beyond traditional theoretical analyses or assessments based on few aggregate indicators, and applies his approach in a large scale empirical study in Bulgaria. The first of its kind evaluation is made on integral, governance, economic, social and environmental sustainability of farming enterprises of different juridical type, size, production specialization, and ecological and geographical location in the country. That study is based on original micro socio-economic, behavioral, environmental, etc. data collected from the managers of 190 "typical" farms of different type and location.
The employed hierarchical framework allows not only assessing better sustainability level but also easily identifying critical components enhancing or compromising the aspect's and overall sustainability of farming enterprises of diverse type. Thus, it is responding to the urgent practical needs of decision makers at various managerial levels - from farm up to the policy making. What is more, the wide and comprehensive field investigation has let to specify major economic, behavioral, technological, social, institutional, political, ideological, international, etc. factors for farm enterprises sustainability, and foresee realistic perspectives for farming development in Bulgaria. Consequently, directions for further research as well as for amelioration of farm management and public intervention in the sector are elaborated in great details.
The book contributes significantly to the field deepening theoretical framework for understanding and assessing farm sustainability, increasing the assessment precision and operationalizing the assessment system, evaluating the actual sustainability level of farming enterprises of different type in Bulgaria, and suggesting effective directions for improvement of farm management and public intervention for sustainable development of the sector. The text is also well illustrated with around 70 figures and tables, while the reference list contains large amount of major sources in the sustainability studies and assessment. All that speaks for itself for the book's research and informative value, good figuration and modern presentation.
All data and findings in the book are presented in an excellent and meeting the high academic standards way. At the same time, book is written in popular and an easily understandable by non-professionals style. That makes the study interesting for reading by a large audience from narrow specialists and experts, researchers, educators, students, farmers, businessmen, administrators, policy makers, professionals, non-governmental and international organizations, to consumers, victims, and public at large.
The book contains a preface, introduction, three parts with nine chapters, conclusions and recommendations as well as lists of illustrations and tables.
In the first part of the book "Framework for Understanding and Assessing Sustainability of Farming Enterprises"evolution of the sustainability "concept" as an alternative ideology, a new strategy, a system characteristic, a constantly evolving category, etc., and the major approaches for sustainability assessment of farming enterprises are discussed. On that base a
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more adequate definition of farming enterprise's sustainability is suggested as "the ability of a particular farm to exist in time and maintain in a long-term its governance, economic, ecological and social functions in the specific socio-economic and natural environment in which it operates and evolves". Particular emphasis is made on justification of a "new" governance aspect of farm's sustainability and on the approach for its integration in the system of assessment of sustainability of farming enterprises. After that, a specific for the contemporary conditions of development of Bulgarian agriculture framework for assessing sustainability of farming enterprises is proposed including a system of adequate principles, criteria, indicators, and reference values.
The second part of the book "Level of Sustainability of Bulgarian Farming Enterprises" presents a large scale approbation of suggested framework for evaluating the overall, governance, economic, social and environmental sustainability of farming enterprises of different juridical type, size, production specialization, ecological and administrative locations in Bulgaria. The aspect and the integral sustainability levels of farming enterprises of different type as well as the shares of farming enterprises with different sustainabilitylevels in each category are profoundly analyzed.
The third part of the book "Factors and Perspectives of Sustainability of Farming Enterprises in Bulgaria" identifies the important ideological, economic, behavioral, educational, technological, institutional, political, international, etc. factors enhancing or deterring farming enterprises sustainability in Bulgaria, and estimate the perspectives of sustainable farming in the country.
The book ends with conclusions and directions for further research in the area and for incorporation of suggested system of assessment in the process of improvement of farming enterprises management and forms of public intervention in the sector.
The study has found out that the overall sustainability of Bulgarian farming enterprises is at a good level, with superior levels for environmental and social sustainability, and close to the border with a low level for governance and economic sustainability. The governance and economic sustainability of farming enterprises are low because of the fact that the governance efficiency and financial stability of holdings are low which are further determined by the low comparative efficiency of short-term inputs supply in relations to alternative organizations, and the unsatisfactory profitability of own capital and overall liquidity of farms. Simultaneously despite that the overall environmental sustainability is relatively high, the preservation of agricultural lands and the biodiversity are relatively low because of the insufficient application of recommended irrigation norms, a high level of soils water erosion, and lowered number of wild animals on farm territory.
Furthermore, there is a great variation in sustainability levels of farming enterprises of different type and location. With the best overall sustainability are companies, cooperatives, and enterprises with a big size, holdings specialized in pigs, poultries and rabbits, with lands in protected zones and territories, and those located in non-mountainous regions with natural handicaps, and in South-Central region of the country. On the other hand, holdings which are predominately for subsistence and mix livestock are with a low sustainability.
There is also a great variation in the share of farming enterprises with different sustainability levels as every forth farming enterprise in the country is with a low sustainability and a little more than 4% are unsustainable. For the physical persons more than a third are with a low sustainability or unsustainable at all. Every forth of the sole traders is with a low overall sustainability, like 15% of the cooperatives, and 6% of the companies. For holdings predominately for subsistence more than a half are with a low sustainability or unsustainable, similarly to around a third of enterprises with a small size and 24% of those with a middle size. As many as 43% of the enterprises with mix-livestock are with a low sustainability and 14% are unsustainable, similarly to the enterprises specialized in vegetables, flowers and mushrooms, where 41% are with a low sustainability and 5% unsustainable. As many as 40% of all enterprises in the South-West region are with a low sustainability or unsustainable, similarly to 37% of those in the North-West region and 32% in the North-East region. A huge number (38%) of holdings in the mountainous regions with natural handicaps are with a low overall sustainability or unsustainable, similarly to 35% of those located in the mountainous regions and every third one in the plain-mountainous regions.
Factors which stimulate to the greatest extent the actions of Bulgarian farming enterprises for improving governance sustainability are: access to advisory services, professional training of manager and hired labor, personal conviction and satisfaction, positive experience of other farms, available innovations, financial capability, private contracts and agreements, and registration and certification of products, services, etc. Factors for improving economic sustainability are: market demand and prices, received direct state subsidies, market competition, financial capability, participation in public support programs, possibilities for benefits in present moment, possibilities for benefits in near future, tax preferences, possibilities for benefits in longer-term, and integration with the buyer of product. Factors for enhancing social sustainability are: personal conviction and satisfaction, social recognition of contribution, immediate benefits for other persons and groups, community initiatives and pressure in the region, access to advisory services, policies of the EU, and existing problems and risks in the region. Factors for increasing environmental sustainability are: existing problems and risks in global scale, official regulations, standards, norms, etc., existing problems and risks in the region, and policies of the EU.
Currently the national and European mechanisms of regulation and support, which affect to the greatest extent economic sustainability of the most Bulgarian farming enterprises are: direct area based payments, national tops ups for products, livestock, etc., modernization of agricultural holdings, green payments, and support to semi-market farms. At the same time, the impacts of national and European policies on governance, social and environmental sustainability of Bulgarian farming enterprises is found to be relatively weak.
This book presents quite well findings of a "study in progress" summarizing the large body of "current knowledge" and giving readers a better picture about the state of farming enterprises sustainability in Bulgaria. Nevertheless, the snapshot sustainability assessments are rarely precise having in mind dynamic changes in socio-economic, market, institutional, natural, and international environment in which farms operate. The assessmentsprecision could be also questioned since it is entirely based on "subjective" estimates of managers rather than incorporating other relevant information from the field tests and surveys, statistical and other data, expertise of professionals, etc.
However, above does not diminish the good academic and practical value of the book. Having in mind the enormous demand for such assessments and the huge progress made by the author, the book gives a good insight on modern understanding, levels and factors of sustainability of Bulgarian farming enterprises at current stage of development. What is more, well-elaborated approach could be easily adapted and used by farmers and other interested parties in the country and abroad. This work is a must read and further expends previous studies of Hrabrin Bachev and other scholars in that important and rapidly evolving area.
September 1, 2018
Shengquan Che, Professor
Director Bulgaria Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University
