Organic farming increased demand

With the advent of modern fertilizers, seaweed fell out of use because of the ease of application of formulated pesticides and because the contamination of seaweed washed up on beaches with plastic waste (fishing lines and ropes, bottles, etc.). With the onset of green agriculture and the increasing demand for organically farmed produce, seaweed use as a fertilizer has come back into fashion. 

An increase in organic farming area due to direct subsidies for and increased profitability of organic farms may result in an erosion of price premiums. This argument holds as long as demand is consolidated. However, if the bottleneck theory described earlier applies and part of the potential demand can be realised - by political measures, for example -then price premiums can be sustained in the short to medium term. In the... 

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