Prosperity and Poverty in a Globalised World — Challenges for Agricultural Research Economic Feasibility of Small Scale Organic Production of Rice, Common Bean and Maize in Goias State, Brazila

The increasing demand for healthy food and the need for environmental and economic sustainability of agricultural production are promoting organic farming worldwide. Therefore, agricultural researchers are challenged to develop such systems together with the stakeholders. In Brazil, scientists are testing different farming systems to produce organic food. However, the economic feasibility, which is a key factor for technology adoption and sustainable production, has not being analysed so far. This paper assesses the economic feasibility of small scale organic production of rice, common bean and maize in Goias State, Brazil. During 2004/05 and 2005/06 growing seasons, rice, common bean and maize were produced at the organic farm of Embrapa Rice and Beans under five mulching systems, with and without tillage. All carried out operations and used inputs were recorded. Based on those records, the production costs for each crop were estimated in each cropping seasons. The costs include operations like seeding, dissecation, ploughing, harrowing, spraying and harvesting, as well as inputs like seeds, inoculates, neem oil and organic fertilisers. The benefits include the gross revenue obtained by multiplying the production amount with the market price for non-organic products. For the purpose of analysi