Eco-efficiency Analysis of Organic Agriculture in Korea

Eco-efficiency which is calculated by dividing economic productivity by the environmental load was made by synthesizing eco and efficiency from ecology and economy, proposed by World Business Council for Sustainable Development in 2000. Eco-efficiency by connection of resource efficiency with resource intensity is used as an indicator for evaluating green growth for minimizing the impact on the environment and achieving economic development as well by means of efficient use of resources. This research analyzes eco-efficiency with the case of organic agriculture promoted as a key green growth policy. Thirty questionnaires for farmers producing organic rice in Hongseong-gun, Choongcheongnam-do were used for the analysis. Eco-efficiency was measured by means of the amount of used nitrogen with respect to the amount of income, and was represented that organic agriculture was 32.0 higher than conventional agriculture. The analytical result of technical efficiency, using the (Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) model showed that it is 0.765 which has a possibility of 21% in management improvement, and higher eco-efficiency was with higher technical efficiency. The analytical results showed that an organic agriculture contributes to green growth more than conventional agriculture. In addition, higher technical efficiency groups exhibited higher eco-efficiency indices.