Exploring Environmental-Economic Benefits from Agri-Industrial Diversification in the Sugar Industry: An Integrated Land Use and Value Chain Approach

Peter C. Roebeling, D. Mark Smith and Martijn van Grieken

No 25755, 2006 Annual Meeting, August 12-18, 2006, Queensland, Australia from International Association of Agricultural Economists

Abstract: The sugar industry in Queensland (Australia) is confronted with increasing economic pressure and environmental constraints. To explore whether agri-industrial diversification of the sugar industry provides a sustainable development pathway for the region, we develop a spatial environmental-economic approach that integrates a land use and value chain model with a hydrological model. Results indicate that agri-industrial diversification can lead to substantial increases in regional income, while at the same time increasing the resilience of a sugar industry facing decreasing sugar prices. Agri-industrial diversification drives land use diversification, which under current sugar prices does not lead to a reduction in sugarcane production. Water quality benefits from this land use diversification are mixed, and depend on the economic viability and erosion characteristics of the concerned production systems.

Keywords: Environmental Economics and Policy; Land Economics/Use (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 16
Date: 2006
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ags:iaae06:25755

DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.25755

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