The Future of Agriculture

Abstract

Peter Berck started his career as a resource economist applying dynamic systems to study forest management. Over the years, his attention shifted toward other resource challenges, including land use and water management, and his range of techniques expanded to include econometrics and computable general equilibrium models. He immersed himself in various aspects of agricultural problems and policy in both developed and developing countries. As a scholar and especially as an editor of the American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Peter had a significant impact on the evolution of agricultural economics. In this chapter, we address a topic that engaged Peter: the future of agriculture and its relationship with other natural resources. The first section of the chapter will discuss the emergence of agricultural systems and the transition from extraction systems to sustainable farming. The second section will address the challenges of modern agriculture in developed countries, and the third will address the future of agriculture, introducing three alternative themes: organic eco-agriculture, food plus, and the bioeconomy.