Sustainable Organic Agriculture for Developing Agribusiness Sector

With the expectation that the global population will reach 9.8 billion by 2050, and 11 billion by 2100, it is crucial that we develop a sustainable organic agriculture sector and a resilient agribusiness sector, taking into account the enormous value of the opportunity presented by the growth in the demand for healthy and safe food at an international level [1].

In Europe and all over the world, climate change has become one of the most dynamic threats to our planet, and the economic factors relating to currency fluctuations have become one of the biggest threats [1,2]. A large number of mechanisms are in place under the current environmental policy to support agribusinesses in mitigating the risk of organic food being put to waste due to a rapidly increasing human population and fluctuating exchange rates, but this does not take into account the relative readiness of individuals or businesses to act under the circumstances [3].

As an agricultural practice, organic farming emphasizes sustainable methods for cultivating crops and producing food animals, avoiding chemical inputs and dietary synthetic drugs that are not part of nature [4]. A significant facet of the development of the agribusiness sector—especially in developing countries—can be attributed to organic agriculture, as it can contribute to meaningful socioeconomic development as well as ecological sustainability [5].

Our Special Issue entitled “Sustainable Organic Agriculture for Developing Agribusiness Sector” welcomed papers focused on the latest knowledge and innovations regarding sustainable organic agriculture, rural development, agricultural economy, policy and management, sustainable food technology, and food safety principles [6].

As a very successful Special Issue, it has welcomed and published a total of twenty high-quality papers.

Bursić et al. [7] have investigated the residues of products with respect to the protection of plants and their effects on organic and conventional agricultural production. Rajković et al. [8] have investigated sustainable organic corn production employing flame weeding, demonstrating its role as the most sustainable economical solution in this type of corn production.

A profile of people who consume organic food products daily and everyday life was investigated and presented by Radojević et al. [9] in their pilot study, while their large study using a multinomial profit model provided a detailed elaboration of the socioeconomic determinants of adopting agricultural machinery for sustainable organic farming [10]. Further, another group of authors in their research have focused on investigating the cognitive component of the image of a rural tourism destination as a potentially sustainable way of improving the agribusiness sector [11], as well as the usage of marketing instruments for satisfying the requirements of higher education institutions in urban and rural areas [12].

Mohamed et al. [13] have investigated whether sea buckthorn and grape extracts as natural tools for phytotherapy could enhance the beneficial health outcomes regarding the prevention of obesity and their ability to improve the function of metabolic organs such as the liver and kidneys.

Regarding ruminants, Colonna et al. [14] have presented the results of sustainable rearing procedure for the production of kid meat, while Becskei et al. [15] have shown the quality of water buffalo milk and traditional milk products when they are produced in a controlled sustainable system. Moreover, the beekeeping sector has expressed special interest concerning the development of the agribusiness sector, rural development, and sustainable natural phytotherapy-based techniques against the diseases of animals [16,17,18].

Škrbić et al. [19] analyzed the degree of the utilization of agricultural biomass for energy purposes to indicate the factors limiting its use and to provide new and sustainable measures that can be applied for a more substantial use of renewable sources of energy. As another point of view, Lekić et al. [20] presented an effort to establish the parameters of job satisfaction among bank employees and to ascertain whether there were differences in job satisfaction between employees in urban and rural branches.

In the poultry production sector, the quickest rising sector for food supply, the effect of using natural or biotic dietary supplements in poultry nutrition on the effectiveness of meat production has been presented [21]. Additionally, novel and sustainable approaches to the use of Melaleuca alternifolia in laying hens’ nutrition and Moringa oleifera in laying Japanese quails and their effects on the performance and egg fatty acid profiles has explored as a promising sustainable, organic agricultural tool [22,23].

Ostapenko et al. [24] in their research have focused on the production and sales of organic products in Ukrainian agricultural enterprises, while Milošević et al. [25] have presented the model of the taxation of agriculture in the Republic of Serbia as a factor in the development of organic agriculture.

Last but not least, the research of Bucea-Manea-Țoniș et al. [26] has presented how green public procurement became an efficient instrument to achieve the objectives of the environmental policy expressed by the European Commission in its communications and the inter-correlation between green agriculture and different agricultural fields.

Altogether, the papers in this Special Issue present valuable data on sustainability, organic farming and production, economics and economy, agribusiness, and rural development.