Resumen de Energy analysis of organic horticultural farms in Italy

Paola Migliorini, Massimo Chiorri, Chiara Paffarini, Francesco Galioto

• The aim of this research is to evaluate energy efficiency of organic horticultural farms in Italy at both surface (GJ/GJ ha-1 year-1) and product (kg MJ-1) level. The methods used is the Output/Input balance at farm level using energy equivalents of the three phases: production, transformation/conservation and marketing. The methodology have been applied to 8 case studies of the organic horticultural Italian sector. The results show that the energy input is low but also the energy efficiency is not high especially if compared to other study of the arable sector. However they show very positive aspects in the commercial phase.