RT Dissertation/Thesis
T1 Integrated rural and urban agricultural systems for the sustainability transition towards the bioeconomy
A1 Winkler,Bastian
WP 2021/12/15
AB The goal of the bioeconomy is a fundamental transition of both the economy and society towards sustainability. Replacing fossil resources by biomass for the provision of food, feed, fibre and fuel/energy (the 4F’s) will result in a substantial increase in demand for agricultural products. The consequent intensification of agricultural production, however, needs to be achieved while alleviating the societal challenges of the 21st century. The bioeconomy provides a knowledge-based, cross-sectoral and systemic pathway to increase agricultural production that involves all relevant stakeholders in the sustainability transition.
This interdisciplinary thesis investigated the contribution that three selected bioeconomic approaches can make to the sustainable intensification of agricultural production, encompassing the growing urban population on the demand side and the numerous smallholder family farmers in countries of the global South on the supply side. 
The first study develops the ‘Integrated Renewable Energy Potential Assessment’ (IREPA) approach that involves smallholder farmers in planning and selection of renewable energy (RE) technologies for implementation into their agricultural systems. The bottom-up potential assessment, participatory learning and action research and multi-criteria decision analysis supported the smallholders in two case studies in rural South Africa and India in the identification of locally appropriate RE technologies. 
The second study uses IREPA to explore smallholders’ perception of agricultural RE production. Social, environmental, technical, institutional and economic factors are analysed to identify drivers of and barriers to RE implementation into smallholder agricultural systems. Mainly environmental factors, in particular climate change impacts, motivate smallholders to produce RE, while social factors (social cohesion, gender aspects, well-being, food and water security) determine the actual change. The barrier of high upfront investment costs can be eliminated by falling RET prices, the development of novel rural RE business models and institutional support. In addition, growing smartphone penetration rates in rural areas and open-access online information enables do-it-yourself RET operation and maintenance. Integrated approaches and such insights are crucial for the targeted formulation of agricultural development policies and stakeholder involvement in the sustainability transition towards a bioeconomy. 
The third study investigates the characteristics of urban gardening in Germany and its potential to encourage sustainable consumer behaviour, based on a review of 657 urban gardening project websites and an online survey involving 380 project participants. The results reveal multiple social, environmental and economic benefits of urban gardens for sustainable city development. The diverse gardener communities actively promote sustainable consumer behaviour by (unintentionally) applying several methods known to encourage pro-environmental behaviour. Hence, urban gardens are transformative spaces that involve the growing urban population in the societal transition towards a bioeconomy. 
In the context of sustainable intensification of biomass production in rural areas, the fourth study investigates the contribution of environmental service assessment and monetization in agricultural systems, using the example of the perennial biomass crop miscanthus for biofuel production. The valorisation makes environmental services - such as soil fertility improvement, carbon sequestration, water and air purification – tangible. This can incentivise payments to farmers for the provision of these public goods. Enhancing and utilising environmental services through nature-based solutions is a promising pathway to sustainable intensification, providing a shift from input-based towards process-based agricultural production. 
Finally, it can be concluded that integrated approaches which connect different production systems, disciplines and stakeholders are central for the development of the bioeconomy: 
- The integration of sustainable technologies, such as RE, into agricultural systems requires case-based research and participation of local stakeholders in project planning, decision making and targeted policy formulation. 
- The integration of the growing urban population in the sustainability transition can be supported by urban gardening because it promotes sustainable consumer behaviour. 
- The integration of nature-based solutions into agricultural systems enhances environmental service provision and supports the shift from input-based towards process-based agricultural systems.
The approaches discussed in this thesis can support the sustainable intensification of agriculture, serve to re-connect the perspectives of rural producers and urban consumers, and enable the involvement of large portions of society in the sustainability transition towards the bioeconomy.
K1 Bioökonomie
K1 Erneuerbare Energien
K1 Kleinbauer
K1 Städtische Landwirtschaft
K1 Ökosystemdienstleistung
PP Hohenheim
PB Kommunikations-, Informations- und Medienzentrum der Universität Hohenheim
UL http://opus.uni-hohenheim.de/volltexte/2021/1969