Ika Darnhofer
Assoc. Prof. Dipl.-Ing. Dr. Ika Darnhofer Ph.D.
Institute of Agricultural and Forestry Economics
Location Feistmantelstraße 4, 1180 Wien
Email ika.darnhofer@boku.ac.at
Tel: +43 1 47654-73320
ORCID: 0000-0002-0809-9602
6508282085: AuthorId
AAE-2559-2020: ResearcherId
Research Focus
My research focus is on decision making on family farms.
Although I appreciate the value of the various tools of neoclassical economics for informing farm management on the short-term and for commercial farms, I find they are limited in their ability to capture the complexity family farmers face, when making decisions over the medium to long term. I am also convinced that limiting ourselves to quantitative data and mathematical analysis curtails our ability to capture important aspects of events.
My research focuses on resilience as a primary management goal of family farmers. Although resilience thinking has primarily been applied at the spatial level of whole social-ecological systems, I believe that many principles can be applied at the farm level, and that these will help us understand how farmers manage their farm under real-life conditions.
While I appreciate the insights that can be gained by various approaches that try to 'measure' the resilience of farms, I think that they often miss the processual aspect of resilience, i.e. the ability to engage with the on-going (and often unexpected) changes on- and off-farm. I am therefore exploring a processual and relational approach to understanding resilience. To do so, I explore insights that can be gained from processual sociology as well as new materialism. And given that farms are not just about the farmer, but also about building, machinery, soil, plants, animals, I also integrate insights from research on non-human.
Career
- 2018 - 2022 PhD in Sociology at the University of Innsbruck
- 2015 - 2015 Visiting Assoc.Prof., University of British Columbia (Vancouver, Canada)
- 2013 - 2015 Deputy head of department
- 2010 Associate Professor
- 2008 - 2008 Visiting scientist - Lincoln University (New Zealand)
- 2006 Habilitation
- 2002 - 2010 Assistant Professor at the Institute of Agricultural and Forestry Economics
- 2000 - 2002 Research Fellow at the Institut of Agricultural Economics
- 1999 - 2000 Systems Operations Manager at Romer Labs, Inc. in Union, MO (USA)
- 1997 - 1998 Consultant for the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs (short term appointments)
- 1996 - 1999 Consultant at Focus Management Consulting in Venna
- 1994 - 1996 Graduate Associate, ILRI in Addis Abeba, Ethiopia
- 1994 - 1997 Doctoral study at the Univ. of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (Dr.rer.nat.techn.)
- 1993 Graduation, Dipl.-Ing.
- 1991 - 1992 Research Intern, ICRAF in Nairobi, Kenya
Awards
- Year: 2011 Awards: BOKU Teaching Award
- Year: 2010 Awards: BOKU Teaching Award
- Year: 2003 Awards: Preis der Österreichischen Gesellschaft für Agrarökonomie 2002
Projects
0 Projects found.
Publications
Knowledge Transfer to Society
Media
Presentations
Year: 2022 - Challenges for Farming Systems Research: learning from experience and looking ahead
Autoren: Darnhofer, I
Event: Farming systems facing climate change and resource challenges. 14th IFSA conference
Year: 2021 - Krisen aus Resilienz-Perspektive
Autoren: Darnhofer, I.
Event: 31. Jahrestagung der ÖGA
Year: 2021 - Diversität als Basis für das Gelingen einer systemorientierten Agrarforschung
Autoren: Darnhofer, I
Event: Wege zu kooperativer und systemorientierter Agrarforschung an der Bayerischen Landesanstalt für Landwirtschaft (LfL)
Year: 2021 - The 'transformability' aspect of resilience
Autoren: Darnhofer, I.
Event: Principles for resetting a post-corona world. 6th Viennese Talks on Resilience and Networks
Year: 2021 - How I use process-relational thinking to reconceptualize farming resilience.
Autoren: Darnhofer, I
Event: Seminar on Relationality in Resilience & Development, Stockholm Resilience Centre.
Year: 2021 - Openings enabled by a process-relational understanding of farming resilience
Autoren: Darnhofer, I
Event: Conference of the Canadian Sociological Association
Year: 2019 - A relational perspective on the trajectory of the organic sector in Austria
Autoren: Darnhofer, I.
Event: XXVIII Congress of the European Society for Rural Sociology (ESRS)
Year: 2019 - On the theoretical challenges to assess the resilience of farms
Autoren: Darnhofer, I.
Event: 173th EAAE Seminar ‘Sustainable and resilient farming systems in the European Union’
Year: 2019 - Zukunftsfähigkeit sichern: hilft ein Perspektivenwechsel von einengenden Strukturen zu ermöglichenden Prozessen?
Autoren: Darnhofer, I.
Event: Jahrestagung 2019 der Schweizerischen Gesellschaft für Agrarwirtschaft und Agrarsoziologie (SGA-SSE)
Year: 2017 - Managing a farm for resilience. An approach to cope with change
Autoren: Darnhofer, I.
Event: Coping with change: resilient and sustainable food systems, from theory to practice
Year: 2017 - Insights from the trajectories of organic farming in Austria, Italy, and France
Autoren: Darnhofer, I., D'Amico, S., Fouilleux, E.
Event: XXVII Congress of the European Society for Rural Sociology
Year: 2017 - Resilience of rural communities
Autoren: Darnhofer, I.
Event: Workshop on socioeconomic issues, DG Agri
Year: 2017 - Food as a bridge over the urban-rural divide
Autoren: Darnhofer, I.
Event: Resilience of place: Networking in an age of division. 5th Viennese Talks on Resilience and Networks
Year: 2016 - Land managers in silvo-pastoral systems: Tackling complexity and uncertainty for resilience
Autoren: Darnhofer, I.
Event: World Congress Silvo-pastoral systems in a changing world: function, management and people
Year: 2015 - Enabling diversity: the ‘Organic Hay Region’
Autoren: Strauss, A; Darnhofer, I;
Event: 26th ESRS European Society for Rural Sociology Congress 2015 - Places of Possibility? Rural Societies in a Neoliberal World
Year: 2015 - Leistet die biologische Landwirtschaft einen Beitrag zur Resilienz landwirtschaftlicher Familienbetriebe?
Autoren: Strauss, A; Darnhofer, I;
Event: 13. Wissenschaftstagung Ökologischer Landbau 2015
Year: 2015 - Zur Ökonomie der Agrarökologie - Ökonomisches Denken im interdisziplinären Kontext
Autoren: Darnhofer, I.
Event: 7. Wintertagung des ICAE - Universität Linz
Year: 2015 - Does a high share of organic farms contribute to alternative rural development pathways?
Autoren: Strauss, A; Darnhofer, I;
Event: 25th Annual Conference of the Austrian Society of Agricultural Economics 2015
Year: 2014 - Resilienz und der Umgang mit Veränderungen. Die Rolle von Bildung und sozialem Lernen
Autoren: Darnhofer, I.
Event: Change in Schule und Unterricht. 10. Studientag an der Hochschule für Agrar- und Umweltpädagogik Wien
Year: 2014 - Does resilience-based management of communal grazing land address gender inequity? A case study in the highlands of Ethiopia
Autoren: Aregu, L., Darnhofer, I., Wurzinger, M.
Event: Resilience 2014 - Third international science and policy conference on the resilience of social and ecological systems
Year: 2014 - Blogging for interactive critical thinking
Autoren: Darnhofer, I.
Event: Alpacher Higher Education Symposium. <a href="https://www.alpbach.org/vortrag/breakout-session-05-bloggen-fuer-interaktives-kritisches-denken/">Weblink</a>
Year: 2014 - Bewusst gestalten: Eine akteurorientierte Sicht auf die Wahl der Betriebsstrategie
Autoren: Strauss, A., Darnhofer, I.
Event: 24. Jahrestagung der Österreichischen Gesellschaft für Agrarökonomie ÖGA 2014
Year: 2014 - Resilience of family farms: understanding the trade-offs linked to diversification
Autoren: Darnhofer, I., Strauss, A.
Event: 11th European IFSA Symposium 2014 - Farming systems facing global challenges: Capacities and strategies
Year: 2014 - Resilience and why it matters for farm management
Autoren: Darnhofer, I.
Event: Invited plenary presentation. Agri-food and rural innovations for healthier societies. 14th Congress of the European Association of Agricultural Economists (EAAE)
Year: 2014 - Linking the social and the ecological for resilience and adaptability: The case of a controlled grazing system in the Ethiopian highlands.
Autoren: Aregu, L., Darnhofer, I.
Event: Resilience 2014 - Third international science and policy conference on the resilience of social and ecological systems
Year: 2014 - Biolandbau in Salzburg: Warum so erfolgreich?
Autoren: Schindecker, S.M., Strauss, A., Darnhofer, I.
Event: 24. Jahrestagung der Österreichischen Gesellschaft für Agrarökonomie ÖGA 2014
Year: 2014 - Managing the trade-offs between factors that strengthen resilience
Autoren: Darnhofer, I.
Event: Resilience 2014 - Third international science and policy conference on the resilience of social and ecological systems
Year: 2013 - Resilienz und der Umgang mit dynamischen Rahmenbedingungen
Autoren: Darnhofer, I
Event: CAS-Herbsttagung 2013 - Markt oder Staat - Perspektiven für die Landwirtschaft
Year: 2013 - Resilience and farming: the role of networks
Autoren: Darnhofer, I.
Event: 3rd Viennese Talks on Resilience Research and Networks 2013
Year: 2013 - Innovation to create resilient agro-food systems
Autoren: Darnhofer, I
Event: Family farming: A dialogue towards more sustainable and resilient farming in Europe and the world
Year: 2013 - Does excluding women undermine the resilience of communal grazing land? A case study in Amhara region, Ethiopia
Autoren: Aregu, L., Darnhofer, I. and Wurzinger, M.
Event: XXVth Congress of the European Society for Rural Sociology
Year: 2012 - Transition to organic farming in Austria. The co-evolution of actors' strategies.
Autoren: Darnhofer, I., Sutherland, L.-A.
Event: 3rd International Conference on Sustainability Transitions 2012
Year: 2012 - Sustainable agriculture: Balancing natural and social sciences
Autoren: Darnhofer, I.
Event: 3rd CASEE Conference 2012 - Sustainable Agriculture and Food Production in the Danube Region
Year: 2012 - Transition to sustainable agriculture: Assessing the case of organic farming in Austria
Autoren: Darnhofer, I. and Sutherland, L.-A.
Event: 13th World Congress of Rural Sociology IRSA Conference 2012- The New Rural World: From Crises to Opportunities
Year: 2011 - Transition to sustainability = transition to plurality?
Autoren: Darnhofer, I., Sutherland, L.-A.
Event: 2nd International Conference on Sustainability Transitions 2011
Year: 2011 - Strengthening the resilience of institutions governing communal grazing land in Ethiopia
Autoren: Behailu, L., Darnhofer, I.
Event: Vienna Workshop on Sustainable Development for Doctoral Students 2011
Year: 2010 - Stratégies pour assurer la capacité d'adaptation d'une exploitation agricole: pistes théoriques
Autoren: Darnhofer, I.
Event: Agir en situation d'incertitude
Year: 2010 - From managing for profits to managing for adaptability
Autoren: Darnhofer, I.
Event: 11th Conference of the International Society for Ecological Economics ISEE 2010 - Advancing sustainability in a time of crisis
Year: 2009 - Navigating the dynamics: Resilient farms through adaptive management
Autoren: Darnhofer, I.
Event: 60th Annual Meeting of the European Association of Animal Production EAAP 2009 - Biodiversity and Sustainable Animal Production Systems
Year: 2009 - Strategies of family farmers to strengthen their resilience <a href="http://www.wiso.boku.ac.at/fileadmin/_/H73/H733/pub/Ika/2009_Darnhofer_ESEE.pdf">[Fulltext]</a>
Autoren: Darnhofer, I.
Event: 8th International Conference of the European Society for Ecological Economics 2009 - Transformation, innovation and adaptation for sustainability
Year: 2009 - Organic farmers searching for alternatives to conventionalisation
Autoren: Darnhofer, I.
Event: 23rd Congress of the European Society for Rural Sociology 2009 - Re-inventing the rural: Between the social and the natural
Year: 2009 - Konventionalisierung: Notwendigkeit einer Bewertung mittels Indikatorensystem, basierend auf den IFOAM-Prinzipien <a href="http://www.wiso.boku.ac.at/fileadmin/_/H73/H733/pub/Biolandbau/2009_WiTa_konvOF.pdf">[Fulltext]</a>
Autoren: Darnhofer, I., T. Lindenthal, W. Zollitsch, R. Bartel-Kratochvil
Event: 10. Wissenschaftstagung Ökologischer Landbau 2009
Year: 2009 - "Konventionalisierung": Die Schattenseite des Bio-Booms?
Autoren: Zollitsch, W., Darnhofer, I.
Event: Generalversammlung Biolandwirtschaft Ennstal 2009
Year: 2008 - In the absence of their men: Women and forest management in the Mid-hills of Nepal
Autoren: Giri, Kalpana
Event: 2nd International Conference on Environmental Economics and Investment Assessment 2008
Year: 2008 - Konventionalisierung: Die Schattenseite des Bio-Booms
Autoren: Zollitsch, W., Bartel-Kratochvil, R., Darnhofer, I., Lindenthal, A.
Event: Bio-Lebensmittel: Rechtliche und marktbezogene Entwicklungen im Überblick
Year: 2008 - Konventionalisierung – die Schattenseite des Bio-Booms
Autoren: Lindenthal, T., Bartel-Kratochvil, R., Darnhofer, I., Zollitsch, W.
Event: Bio-Symposium der Landwirtschaftskammer Innsbruck 2008 - Zwischen Kommerz und Kreislaufwirtschaft – Ist der Bio-Boom nachhaltig?
Year: 2008 - Was bedeutet „Konventionalisierung“? Konventionelle Lösungsansätze statt Kreislaufdenken untergraben den Biolandbau.
Autoren: Bartel-Kratochvil, R., Lindenthal, T., Zollitsch, W., Darnhofer, I.
Event: Bioforschung für die Praxis, Seminar gemäß Fortbildungsplan des Bundes 2008
Year: 2008 - Konventionalisierung - Die andere Seite des Bio-Booms
Autoren: Lindenthal, T., R. Bartel-Kratochvil, I. Darnhofer und W. Zollitsch
Event: BIO AUSTRIA - Bauerntage 2008
Year: 2007 - Experiences from transdisciplinary workshops. Co-learning about the effects of global change on farming and rural areas.
Autoren: Darnhofer, I. and M.C. Loibl
Event: 22nd Congress of the European Society for Rural Sociology 2007 - Mobilities, vulnerabilities, sustainabilities
Year: 2007 - Adaptiveness of organic farms. Results from transdisciplinary workshops
Autoren: Darnhofer, I.
Event: 22nd Congress of the European Society for Rural Sociology 2007 - Mobilities, vulnerabilities, sustainabilities
Year: 2006 - Organic farming at the heart of the rural development policy. The example of Austria
Autoren: Darnhofer, I.
Event: European Joint Organic Congress DARCOF 2006 - Organic Farming and European Rural Development
Year: 2006 - Can family farmers be understood as adaptive managers?
Autoren: Darnhofer, I.
Event: 7th European IFSA Symposium 2006
Year: 2006 - Organic farming between professionalisation and conventionalisation. The need for a more discerning view of farmer practices
Autoren: Darnhofer, I.
Event: European Joint Organic Congress DARCOF 2006 - Organic Farming and European Rural Development
Year: 2006 - Organic farming at the heart of the rural development policy. The example of Austria
Autoren: Darnhofer, I.
Event: European Joint Organic Congress DARCOF 2006 - Organic Farming and European Rural Development
Year: 2006 - Can family farmers be understood as adaptive managers?
Autoren: Darnhofer, I.
Event: 7th European IFSA Symposium 2006
Year: 2006 - Organic farming between professionalisation and conventionalisation. The need for a more discerning view of farmer practices
Autoren: Darnhofer, I.
Event: European Joint Organic Congress DARCOF 2006 - Organic Farming and European Rural Development
Year: 2005 - Total conversion to organic farming of a grassland and a cropping region in Austria-economic, environmental and sociological aspects
Autoren: Freyer, B., Darnhofer, I., Eder, M., Lindenthal, T. und Muhar, A.
Event: 15th IFOAM Organic World Congress; Researching sustainable systems, ISOFAR 2005
Year: 2004 - Überlegungen zur Umstellung Schweine haltender Betriebe auf biologische Wirtschaftsweise
Autoren: Darnhofer, I., Omelko, M.
Event: Die EU-Integration Tschechiens - Anpassungsprozesse im Agrarsektor des österreichisch-tschechischen Grenzraums 2004
Year: 2003 - Mapping farmers' perceptions of conversion to organic farming. A case study
Autoren: Darnhofer, I.
Event: Spatial Inequality AAEA, RSS, CAES Annual Meeting 2003 - Continuity and Change in Territorial Stratification
Year: 2003 - Das Bio-Kontrollsystem in Österreich - Funktionsweise, Stärken, Schwächen, Handlungsbedarf
Autoren: Vogl, C. R.; Darnhofer, I.
Event: Wintertagung 2003 - Neue Herausforderungen - neue Antworten
Year: 2003 - Umstellung auf biologischen Landbau aus Sicht der Landwirte
Autoren: Darnhofer, I.
Event: Umweltpolitische Maßnahmen der tschechischen Republik und Österreichs in der landwirtschaftlichen Produktion
Year: 2003 - Einfluss von Preiszuschlägen und Förderungshöhe auf die Wirtschaftlichkeit und das Risiko einer Umstellung auf Biolandbau in einem Ackerbaugebiet
Autoren: Eder, M., Darnhofer, I.
Event: 7. Wissenschaftstagung Ökologischer Landbau 2003
Year: 2003 - Farmers' strategies and conversion to organic farming
Autoren: Darnhofer, I.
Event: 20th Congress of the European Society for Rural Sociology 2003 - Work, Leisure and Development in Rural Europe Today
Year: 2003 - Certification and Accreditation of Organics in Austria: Implementation, Strengths and Weaknesses
Autoren: Darnhofer, I., Vogl, C.R.
Event: Ecolabels and the Greening of the Food Market
Year: 2002 - Full conversion to organic farming in two Austrian regions, Poster
Autoren: Freyer, B., Lindethal, T., Bartel, A., Darnhofer, I., Eder, M., Hadatsch, S., Milestad, R., Muhar, A., Payer, H., Schneeberger, W.
Event: 14th IFOAM Organic World Congress 2002 - Cultivating Communities
Year: 2001 - Einstellung der Landwirte - Ihr Einfluss auf die Verbreitung des Biolandbaus
Autoren: Darnhofer, I.
Event: 11. ÖGA-Jahrestagung 2001 - Wie steuerbar ist die Landwirtschaft? Erfordernisse, Potentiale und Instrumente zur Ökologisierung der Landwirtschaft
Can farm resilience be built through organic farming?
Autoren: Milestad, R., Darnhofer, I., Hadatsch, S.,