In the Netherlands, more organic than non-organic farms have successfully started multifunctional activities on their farms. As multifunctional farms attract groups of people, they generally have more connection to society than common farms have as well. Moreover, research by Goddijn et al. (2007) shows that organic farms generally have a stronger connection than non-organic farms, meaning that people experience interest and attraction on common farms, but true involvement on organic farms.
Therefore, it is expected that organic farms and farmers have specific qualities or characteristics that make them specifically suitable for starting multifunctional activities and maintaining the connection with society. It is unclear why this is, however. But it is important to know what these characteristics or qualities are, as these can be useful to organic farmers to make their multifunctional activities work and find that connection to society. It is also useful to the organic sector as a whole as it can be used to distinguish organic farms in the market. Also for common farms it is useful, as they can learn from these characteristics and use them for finding connection to society. Important questions: - What are the specific qualities / characteristics / activities of organic farns that make them suitable for multifunctional activities and finding connection to society? - How can these be used by the farmer and the sector to market (multifunctional) organic farms and reach for connection with society? |
