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The purpose of this paper is to investigate the supply chains for organic milk, apples and pasta in eight European countries and how added value is distributed among market players.

Using secondary data and expert interviews, a market overview for the three products is provided as the basis of a more detailed analysis of the added value in 12 organic supply chain examples. For this, interviews with market players and an “added value calculator” tool are employed.

The farm gate and retail price of organic products is higher than conventional. Supermarkets are the main outlet for organic milk and apples in the countries studied, whereas the situation for organic pasta is varied, suggesting that the use of different sale channels is influenced by the food product. The farmers’ share of added value ranges between 3 and 65 per cent of the added value created in the organic supply chains analysed. Organic offers opportunities to increase the farmers’ share of added value both in supermarkets and alternative sale channels, by developing collaboration, physical infrastructures for organic and integrating operations upstream of the chain.

While more research is needed into a larger number of chains, this paper indicates that there are dynamics and features at supply chain level, such as the distribution of added value and the target markets used, that cannot be interpreted according to the binary division between “mainstream” and “alternative” organic suggested by the conventionalisation hypothesis.

The distribution of added value for existing supply chains in eight European countries is calculated by using an effective added value calculator tool.

The purpose of this paper is to provide an analysis of the risk factors influencing non-compliance in UK organic farming.

The paper uses a formal econometric model of risk analysis to provide empirical evidence on the determinants of non-compliance in organic farming. A panel of data from the archives of the largest control body in the UK for 2007-2009 is used, and specific analyses are performed for two types of non-compliances. A zero inflated count data model is used for the estimation, taking into account the fact that the occurrences of non-compliance are very sparse.

Results show the existence of strong co-dependence of non-compliant behaviours (i.e. the occurrence of major and critical non-compliance increases the probability of occurrence of the minor one; similarly the probability of occurrence of major non-compliance increases when minor non-compliance occur). Besides, livestock production and farm size are relevant risk factors.

Albeit highly representative, the findings are based on Soil Association data only and not on all UK organic farms.

The paper provides practical indications for control bodies, concerning aspects that could be strengthened for more efficient risk-based inspections. The paper advocates the use of financial information like turnover or capital stock, and of data concerning the characteristics of the farmers, that could substantially improve the probability of detecting the most severe non-compliances.

Certification is essential for organic farming, and an improvement of inspection procedures through a risk-based approach could add efficiency and effectiveness to the whole organic food system, with obvious advantages for consumers and the society as a whole.

This paper provides for the first time empirical evidence concerning the implementation of the organic certification system in the UK.

This work aims to assess the potential of a Bio-District as a model for applying the circular economy concerning the waste scope. It aims to understand the capability of organic farms to manage waste with a circular perspective, starting with the use of indicators that directly or indirectly impact the waste scope.

This study is based on previous work that identified and systematised the circular indicators of the agri-food sector within a dashboard. With this research as a basis, the indicators within the waste scope in the dashboard were extracted. Cross-linked indicators with an indirect connection to the waste scope were also systematised and tested in a case study. Primary and secondary data were used for the study. The primary data came from a semi-structured interview, and the secondary data were from official databases.

The work highlights two important results. The first allows the definition of a subclassification of indicators by product and organisation, extracting those with a cross-linked characteristic concerning the waste scope. Secondly, the indicators' application shows the farm's circular and waste valorisation potential within the Bio-District. The study also made it possible to test a new indicator, the “Potential Energy Biomass Recovery”, to measure the farm's potential to produce energy from waste.

This research proposes a new circular economy approach to evaluate waste management in the agri-food sector.