McCarthy, Breda, and Schurmann, Andrea (2018) Risky business: growers' perceptions of organic and biodynamic farming in the tropics. Rural Society, 27 (3).

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Abstract

Organic and biodynamic farming has emerged as a growing, niche sector in the agricultural industry. Research into stakeholders' risk perceptions of organic and biodynamic farming is surprisingly scarce. This paper uses qualitative data from a series of 32 interviews with growers and key respondents to illuminate how risk is interpreted in the agricultural community. This study showed that despite the diversity of the sample, there was broad consensus on the risks facing organic farmers. However, risk perceptions seemed to vary depending on personal values and institutional trust. Some of these farmers lacked confidence in agricultural institutions, were strongly opposed to the use of chemicals in farming on health and environmental grounds and perceived risk differently from their counterparts in conventional agriculture.

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