Effects of Small Sustainable Land Use Systems in Developing Countries

Especially when viewed in the context of the ongoing market liberalization, small land use systems are often considered to be inefficient in terms of commodity production because further externalities, which might also be welfare-relevant, are not sufficiently accounted for. The assessment of all outputs connected with small land use systems can deliver a more comprehensive view on their economic, ecological and sociocultural impacts. This paper reports on a case study carried out in India which investigated the outputs of small sustainable land use systems. Based on the empirical evidences, we show the high complexity of outputs—commodities and externalities—linked with small sustainable land use systems in developing countries.