ISHS Acta Horticulturae 55: IV Symposium on Horticultural Economics
COST-BENEFIT ANALYSIS OF THE SOCIAL- AND ENVIRONMENTAL-ECONOMIC EFFICIENCY OF HORTICULTURE |
| Author: | W. Rothenburger |
| Abstract:
Horticulture embraces a variety of production and service activities having close links with agriculture, forestry, commerce, and the building industry. The economic importance of the central core of horticulture, i.e. the production of vegetables, fruit, ornamental plants and trees, has suffered a certain decline in fully industrialized countries. On the other hand, the activities of conservation, distribution and marketing of horticultural products, retailing of flowers and house plants, cemetery maintenance, garden and landscape designing, and landscape gardening are on the upgrade. The economic importance of all these activities has still to be assessed. Today, the definition of their economic performance is no longer adequate. A social and environmental estimate will be necessary. An input-output matrix was used to quantify cash flows from horticulture in terms of other sectors of economy and of ecology. One result indicates that horticulture as a whole is beneficial to the environment because it yields a financial surplus for the care and conservation of nature, especially plants. Beside the financial contribution is the environmental benefit from horticulture significant. An attempt is made to estimate this benefit. The methodological problems associated with the quantification of the necessary data are very large, so that only an imperfect basis of discussion was given. | |
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