International Conference on Organic Agriculture and Food Security

OFS/2007/INF

Papers Submitted

International Conference on Organic Agriculture and Food Security
3 – 5 May 2007 FAO, Italy
This is a compilation of papers submitted to the Conference and which are hereby made available without proper editing. The designations employed and the presentation of material in this document do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

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Table of Contents

PREPARATION OF THIS DOCUMENT

V

GLOBAL

1

CAN ORGANIC FARMING MITIGATE THE IMPACT OF AGRICULTURE ON GLOBAL WARMING?

1

GLOBAL

3

CAN ORGANIC FARMING FEED THE WORLD?

3

GLOBAL

5

IFOAM’S PERSPECTIVES ON ORGANIC AGRICULTURE, FOOD SECURITY AND SOVEREIGNTY

5

GLOBAL

7

INFLUENCING ATTITUDES OF PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS TOWARDS ORGANIC AGRICULTURE AS A MEANS OF

PROMOTING FOOD SECURITY

7

GLOBAL

10

WHY CO2 EMISSIONS FROM SOILS ARE IMPORTANT AND MUST BE INCLUDED IN GLOBAL CARBON

FOOTPRINT REDUCTION TARGETS

10

GLOBAL

12

THE CURRENT STATUS OF ORGANIC FARMING IN THE WORLD - FOCUS ON DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

12

ARGENTINA (FOOD UTILIZATION)

14

WILLINGNESS TO PAY FOR ORGANIC FOOD IN ARGENTINA: EVIDENCE FROM A CONSUMER SURVEY

14

BANGLADESH (FOOD ACCESS)

17

NAYAKRISHI, NEW (AGRI) CULTURAL MOVEMENT OF BANGLADESH

17

BOLIVIA (FOOD ACCESS)

19

ON THE WAY TO AN ECOLOGICAL COUNTRY WITH FOOD SOVEREIGNTY: A CASE STUDY OF BOLIVIA

19

BOLIVIA (FOOD UTILIZATION)

21

MICRO VEGETABLE GARDENS PROJECT

21

BRAZIL (FOOD AVAILABILITY)

23

ORGANISATIONS AND TRANSITIONS OF HORTICULTURAL ORGANIC PRODUCERS IN A PERI-URBAN AREA OF

SÃO PAULO (BRAZIL)

23

CHINA (FOOD ACCESS)

26

THE DEVELOPMENT OF ORGANIC AGRICULTURE: A CASE FROM YUNNAN PROVINCE OF CHINA

26

COLOMBIA (FOOD AVAILABILITY)

29

PROCESOS DE TRANSFORMACIÓN SOCIAL Y PRODUCTIVA EN TRUJILLO, COLOMBIA

29

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC (FOOD ACCESS)

31

THE CONTRIBUTION OF ORGANIC AGRICULTURE TO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT - THE CASE OF THE

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

31

ETHIOPIA (FOOD ACCESS)

34

FOOD SECURITY, LIVELIHOODS AND OPTIONS FOR ORGANIC AGRICULTURE IN ETHIOPIA

34

EUROPEAN UNION (FOOD ACCESS)

37

ORGANIC FOOD MARKET DEVELOPMENT IN CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPEAN NEW MEMBER STATES OF

EUROPEAN UNION

37

GERMANY (FOOD ACCESS)

39

INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK AND ACCEPTANCE OF THE ORGANIC CERTIFICATION SYSTEM

39

GERMANY

41

ORGANIC FARMING AND FOOD SECURITY IN EASTERN GERMANY

41

GERMANY

41

THE CONTRIBUTION OF ORGANIC AGRICULTURE TO RURAL DEVELOPMENT - CASE STUDIES IN EASTERN

GERMANY

43

INDIA (FOOD ACCESS)

45

OFF SEASON ORGANIC VEGETABLES: A POTENTIAL SOURCE OF HOUSEHOLD FOOD SECURITY

45

INDIA (FOOD ACCESS)

48

ORGANIC VIS -A -VIS CONVENTIONAL LIVESTOCK PRODUCTION POTENTIAL IN INDIA

48

INDIA (INDONESIA AND THE PHILIPPINES)

50

SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE AS POTENTIAL TOOL FOR POVERTY REDUCTION IN ASIA

50

INDIA (FOOD ACCESS)

53

ORGANIC FARMING OFFERING OPPORTUNITY OF INCOME SECURITY AMONG SMALL FARMERS OF INDIA: A

COUNTRY WIDE STUDY

53

INDIA (FOOD ACCESS)

55

REGISTERED ORGANIC FARMERS IN UTTARAKHAND STATE OF INDIA: A PROFILE

55

INDIA (FOOD AVAILABILITY)

57

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LEISA – A STEP TOWARDS ORGANIC FARMING IN SEMI ARID REGIONS

57

INDIA (FOOD AVAILABILITY)

60

ORGANIC AGRICULTURE PRODUCTION – A CASE STUDY OF KARNAL DISTRICT OF HARYANA STATE OF

INDIA

60

INDIA

62

ORGANIC RICE YIELD TWICE NATIONAL AVERAGE: CASE OF AN INDIAN FARMER’S SUCCESS STORY

62

INDIA (FOOD AVAILABILITY)

65

THE MARKET POTENTIAL FOR ORGANIC FOODS IN INDIA

65

INDIA (FOOD STABILITY)

68

NUTRIENT DYNAMICS DURING THE SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES IN WARM HUMID TROPICS OF

SOUTH INDIA

68

INDONESIA

71

ECOLOGICAL AGRICULTURE IN THE HIGHLANDS OF JAVA, INDONESIA: PRELIMINARY STEP TOWARDS

ORGANIC AGRICULTURE

71

INDONESIA (FOOD AVAILABILITY)

73

ORGANIC AGROFORESTRY FOR SOIL CONSERVATION AND FOOD AVAILABILITY IN TIMOR, EAST NUSA

TENGGARA, INDONESIA

73

INDONESIA

76

THE ORGANIC AND DIVERSE NON-RICE FOOD SYSTEM OF GIYOMBONG VILLAGE, INDONESIA

76

INDONESDIA

78

WILD FOODS THAT SUSTAIN LOCAL COMMUNITIES

78

ITALY (FOOD UTILIZATION)

81

EVALUATION OF SAFETY AND QUALITY OF ORGANIC DURUM WHEAT FROM EXPERIMENTAL FIELDS IN

ITALY

81

ITALY (FOOD AVAILABILITY)

83

DURUM WHEAT-LEGUME TEMPORARY INTERCROP - THE EFFECTS ON WEED CONTROL, NITROGEN SUPPLY

AND WHEAT QUALITY

83

ITALY (FOOD STABILITY)

86

ENERGY ANALYSIS OF ORGANIC AND CONVENTIONAL FARMING SYSTEMS

86

ITALY (FOOD STABILITY)

89

AGROECOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS OF ORGANIC FARMING’S POTENTIAL FOR FOOD SECURITY AND

STABILITY

89

MALAWI (FOOD ACCESS)

91

ORGANIC AGRICULTURE FOR FOOD SECURITY IN MALAWI, AT THE THONDWE VILLAGE POLYTECHNIC 91

MEDITERRANEAN BASIN (FOOD ACCESS)

93

EMERGING APPROACHES TO ORGANIC AGRICULTURE DEVELOPMENT IN THE MEDITERRANEAN BASIN: MAIB

EXPERIENCE

93

MEXICO

96

MOVIMIENTO AGROECOLOGICO DE AMERICAL LATINA Y EL CARIBLE MAELA

96

PACIFIC REGION (FOOD AVAILABILITY)

98

DECLINE IN AVAILABILITY OF ORGANIC FOOD PRODUCTS FOR PACIFIC ISLANDS

98

PHILIPPINES (FOOD ACCESS)

101

ORGANIC AGRICULTURE AND LANDSCAPE CHANGE: THE CASE OF THE IFUGAO RICE TERRACES, NORTHERN

PHILIPPINES

101

PHILIPPINES (FOOD UTILIZATION)

103

GROWTH PERFOMANCE OF BROILER FED WITH DIFFERENT STRAINS OF PROBIOTICS

103

ROMANIA (FOOD AVAILABILITY)

106

ORGANIC AGRICULTURE – A CHANCE FOR FOOD AVAILABILITY IN ROMANIA

106

SOUTH AFRICA (FOOD UTILIZATION)

109

ORGANIC SPROUTS AS A NUTRITIONAL SOLUTION

109

SOUTH AFRICA (FOOD ACCESS)

111

CONTRIBUTION OF ORGANIC AGRICULTURE TO HOUSEHOLD FOOD SECURITY IN KWAZULU-NATAL, SOUTH

AFRICA

111

SOUTH AFRICA (FOOD ACCESS)

114

EMERGING ISSUES IN SMALLHOLDER ORGANIC PRODUCTION IN SOUTH AFRICA: THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN

ORGANIC PRODUCTION DECISION SUPPORT INTERFACE

114

SPAIN

116

GESTIÓN DEL RIESGO EN PRODUCCIONES DE AGRICULTURA ECOLÓGICA: GARANTÍA DE RENTAS PARA EL

PRODUCTOR Y ESTABILIDAD DE LA PRODUCCIÓN

116

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SRI LANKA (FOOD AVAILABILITY)

119

ORGANIC AND CONVENTIONAL FARMING SYSTEMS CONTRIBUTION TO HOUSEHOLD FOOD SECURITY IN SRI

LANKA

119

SRI LANKA

121

SUCCESS OF TRADITIONAL ORGANIC PADDY CULTIVATION IN TSUNAMI AFFECTED FALLOW AND

MARGINALIZED FIELDS IN SRI LANKA.

121

THAILAND (FOOD ACCESS)

124

PROFITABILITY AND PROFIT EFFICIENCY OF ORGANIC RICE CONTRACT FARMING IN THAILAND

124

THAILAND (FOOD ACCESS)

126

FOOD ACCESS THROUGH ORGANIC-FAIRTRADE PROJECT IN THAILAND

126

TURKEY (FOOD AVAILABILITY)

128

ORGANIC AGRICULTURE IN GOKCEADA – TURKEY ‘ORGANIC ISLAND COKCEADA’

128

UGANDA (FOOD ACCESS)

130

HOUSEHOLD FOOD SECURITY EFFECTS OF CERTIFIED ORGANIC EXPORT PRODUCTION IN TROPICAL AFRICA:

A GENDERED ANALYSIS

130

UGANDA (FOOD ACCESS)

132

THE ECONOMICS OF CERTIFIED ORGANIC FARMING IN TROPICAL AFRICA: A PRELIMINARY ASSESSMENT 132

UGANDA (FOOD STABILITY)

135

INNOVATIVENESS IN IMPORVING FOOD SECURITY IN RURAL HOUSEHOLDS: THE CASE OF INTERCROPPING

CASSAVA WITH BANANAS IN WAKISO DISTRICT OF UGANDA

135

UGANDA (FOOD STABILITY)

137

IMPROVING FOOD SECURITY THROUGH ORGANIC FARMING IN UGANDA

137

ZIMBABWE (FOOD AVAILABILITY)

140

CONSERVATION FARMING: A SUSTAINABLE ORGANIC AGRICULTURAL TECHNOLOGY FOR ENHANCED

HOUSEHOLD FOOD SECURITY FOR THE VULNERABLE AND POOR IN RURAL ZIMBABWE

140

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Preparation of this Document
In January 2007, a Call for Papers was put out in preparation for the International Conference on Organic Agriculture and Food Security, 3-5 May, to be held at FAO Headquarers in Rome, Italy. Over the course of 3 months, 115 papers related to organic agriculture and food security were submitted by farmers, students, researchers and civil society organizations. This overwhelming response of amazing stories reflects the effort of people around the globe who believe in organic agriculture and its capacity to contribute to improved food security.
Of all the valuable contributions submitted, approximately half were selected by the Conference Steering Committee and are presented in this compilation. Papers were selected on the basis of the number of people/farmers involved with the case studies, the scope of the work, the inclusion of empirical observations and scientific experiments and on the link made between organic agriculture and food security.
In our Call for Papers we had requested that authors categorize their papers based on one of the four food security dimensions: food availability, food access, stability of the food supply system and food utilization. This proved to be a learning experience both for us, the reviewers, and for the authors because, as is so often the case with organic agriculture, the diversity of work and the topics covered could not defined by one area. This process allowed contributors to place their work/experience within the very multidimensional framework of food security.
Keywords for the food security dimensions (that shape the different sessions of the Conference): ƒ Food Availability: productivity, yield comparisons, urban agriculture, local provisioning, food import capacity; ƒ Food Access: agricultural inputs, land tenure, seeds and breeds, environmental services, credit and debt, markets, export, income, labour, employment, agro-ecotourism, knowledge, community development, institutions; ƒ Food Stability: agroecosystem, diversification, resistance to pest and diseases, soil resilience, water resources variability, climate change adaptation and mitigation, energy balance, import dependency; and ƒ Food Utilization: quality, safety, nutrition, health, toxic exposure, storage, processing, transport.
We wish to thank all authors who submitted papers and those people involved with the dynamic research projects presented herein. Limited editing was done to the text in order to reflect the diversity of cultural expressions and languages of our authors.

Sincerely, Tara L. Moreau Conference Secretariat, FAO, Rome

The material in this document should be cited as follows: Paper Author, 2007. Paper Title. In: Papers Submitted to the International Conference on Organic Agricutlure and Food Security, FAO, Rome, Italy, 3-5 May 2007. page x-y.

OFS/2007/INF

1

Global
Can organic farming mitigate the impact of agriculture on global warming?
Claude Aubert Agronomist specialized in organic farming
[email protected]

Introduction
Global warming represents a major threat for food security, especially in tropical countries. It is expected that global warming will worsen the drought and the irregularity of rainfall in many countries. Mitigating the emissions of greenhouse gases is therefore an important challenge that can significantly contribute to improving food security. This can be achieved by reducing CO2 emissions due to combustion of fossil fuels, but also by changing agricultural techniques.
Agriculture is responsible for at least 30% of global warming. This important contribution is due to three gases: CO2 (carbon dioxide), NH4 (methane) and N20 (nitrous oxide). CO2 emissions come mainly from fertilizer industry, from the machinery used on the farm and, according to the production system and to the changes in land use, from the carbon present in the soil. Deforestation is an important contributor to the emissions of CO2 by agriculture. NH4 emissions come from livestock, mainly from enteric fermentation but also from manure and rice fields. N2O comes mainly from the soil (denitrification) and to a lesser extent from animal manure.
The impact of organic agriculture, compared to conventional agriculture, has not been extensively studied. However, some conclusions can be drawn from preliminary research done in this field, in particular on the factors influencing the emissions of greenhouse gases by agriculture.
Results
CO2 emissions
In developed countries the manufacturing of fertilizers - mainly nitrogen fertilizers - accounts for about half of the energy used in agriculture. In developing countries, this contribution can be even more important, due to a less efficient use of fertilizers plants and to a minor mechanization. Since organic agriculture does not use artificial nitrogen fertilizers, it uses less energy than conventional agriculture and therefore emits less CO2. In Europe it has been evaluated that for main crops, organic agriculture uses per acre about half the energy used in conventional agriculture. Considering that the yields are lower in organic agriculture, the advantage of this type of agriculture per amount produced is less important, but it remains an important factor. In European livestock’s production, the consumption of energy required to produce one liter of organic milk represents about 25% compared to what is needed in conventional milk production. The reason is that organic cows are predominantly grazing, whereas in many cases, the feed of conventional ones is based on grain and soybean cake.
Carbon sequestration
It is well known that, in many areas of the world, the intensification of agriculture based on artificial fertilizers and deep ploughing has led to a progressive decline in the organic content of the soil. It is estimated that in the North American Great Plains 50% of the soil organic carbon has been lost over the past 50 to 100 years of cultivation. In France, more than 7 millions hectares have an organic matter content of less than 1.6% while it was more than 2% a few decades ago. In tropical countries the deforestation leads to an even faster decline in organic matter. This means an important release of CO2 in the atmosphere, contributing to the greenhouse effect. As confirmed by long term trials, organic agriculture maintains and often increases the organic matter and therefore the carbon content of the soil. This ability to sequester carbon contributes to mitigate the contribution of agriculture to the greenhouse effect.

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Nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions

Nitrous oxide is emitted mainly by the soil. The IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) has evaluated that the emissions represent in average 1.25% of the amount of nitrogen applied as fertilizer. However, this percentage depends on many factors. Very few data are available about the emissions of N2O by organic farming compared to conventional farming. The amount of nitrogen applied generally is lower in organic than in conventional agriculture therefore emissions are lower. Moreover, existing data show that the emissions of N2O increase dramatically when the nitrogen fertilization exceeds the needs of the crops, which happens much more frequently in conventional than in organic farming. It can therefore be concluded that organic farming emits less N2O than conventional farming.

Methane (NH4) emissions
Methane emissions are, after N2O emissions, the main responsible of the contribution of agriculture to global warming. Methane emissions from agriculture have three main origins: enteric fermentations of ruminants; fermentation of animal dejections; and anaerobic fermentation of flooded crops (rice).
The production of methane per animal is about the same in organic and in conventional breeding. However, the emission per kilo of milk - or meat - is lower in intensive than in extensive production. This means that it is higher in organic production. But this increase is, at least partially, compensated by the better longevity of organic cows. In fact, in intensive system, especially in milk production, cows have a very short life, usually up to five years: the number of lactations is often less than 2.5, which means that cows emit methane without producing anything during the first half of their life.
The emissions of methane by the fermentation of manure are lower in organic than in conventional breeding, since composting is an aerobic fermentation, whereas the conventional way of keeping manure (heaps or slurry) is mainly anaerobic.
Taking in account the difficulty to measure precisely those different emissions, we can assume that, as far as emissions of methane are concerned, there is little difference between organic and conventional.
Conclusions
It can be concluded that conversion to organic farming contributes to mitigate the contribution of agriculture to global warming. It therefore contributes to the stability of the food supply which is threatened but the climate change. However, more research is needed in order to evaluate further the extent of this mitigation and identify what improvements in organic farming could increase it.
It should be noted that another important way to mitigate the contribution of food production to global warming is to change our food habits, especially – at least in developed countries - to reduce significantly the consumption of meat, mainly of red meat.
Biography
Claude Aubert, consultant, is one of the first agronomists who, 40 years ago, started promoting organic agriculture in France. He is one of the authors of the first IFOAM standards for organic farming and has worked for many years as an adviser in organic farming. He wrote several books on organic farming, among which : “L’agriculture biologique, pourquoi et comment la pratiquer", 1972, Le courrier du livre ; “Onze questions clés sur l’agriculture, l’alimentation, la santé, le tiers-monde", 1983, Terre Vivante ; “Bio, raisonnée, OGM, quelle agriculture dans notre assiette?" 2002, Terre Vivante.

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Global
Can Organic Farming Feed The World?
Brian Halweil Worldwatch Institute [email protected]
The only people who think organic farming can feed the world are delusional hippies, hysterical moms, and self-righteous organic farmers. Right? Actually, no. A fair number of agribusiness executives, agricultural and ecological scientists, and international agriculture experts believe that a large-scale shift to organic farming would not only increase the world’s food supply, but might be the only way to eradicate hunger. This probably comes as a surprise, even to the readers of this newsletter. But last year—inspired by a field trip to a nearby organic farm where the farmer reported that he raised an amazing 27 tons of vegetables on six-tenths of a hectare in a relatively short growing season—a team of scientists from the University of Michigan tried to estimate how much food could be raised following a global shift to organic farming. The team combed through the literature for any and all studies comparing crop yields on organic farms with those on non-organic farms. Based on 293 examples, they came up with a global dataset of yield ratios for the world’s major crops for the developed and the developing world.
As expected, organic farming yielded less than conventional farming in the developed world (where farmers use copious amounts of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides in a perennial attempt to maximize yields), while studies from the developing world showed organic farming boosting yields. (Examples from growing areas as diverse as India, Guatemala, and Kenya found that the sophisticated combination of old wisdom and modern ecological innovations that help harness the yield-boosting effects of cover crops, compost, manure, beneficial insects, and crop synergies in organic farming were particularly useful in dry areas with poor soils where farmers aren’t likely to afford agrochemicals any time soon.)
The team then ran two models. The first was conservative, and the second was optimistic, based on yield gaps between organic and non-organic practices in developed and developing countries. The first model yielded 2,641 kilocalories (“calories”) per person per day, just under the world’s current production of 2,786 calories but significantly higher than the average caloric requirement for a healthy person of between 2,200 and 2,500. The second model yielded 4,381 calories per person per day, 75 percent greater than current availability—and a quantity that could theoretically sustain a much larger human population than is currently supported on the world’s farmland.
Skeptics may doubt the team’s conclusions—as ecologists, they are likely to be sympathetic to organic farming—but a second recent study of the potential of a global shift to organic farming, led by Niels Halberg of the Danish Institute of Agricultural Sciences, came to very similar conclusions, even though the authors were economists, agronomists, and international development experts. Like the Michigan team, Halberg’s group made an assumption about the differences in yields with organic farming for a range of crops, and then plugged those numbers into a model developed by the World Bank’s International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). This model is considered the definitive algorithm for predicting food output, farm income, and the number of hungry people throughout the world.
Given the growing interest in organic farming among consumers, government officials, and agricultural scientists, the researchers wanted to assess whether a large-scale conversion to organic farming in Europe and North America (the world’s primary food exporting regions) would reduce yields, increase world food prices, or worsen hunger in poorer nations that depend on imports, particularly those people living in the Third World’s swelling mega-cities. Although the group found that total food production declined in Europe and North America, the model didn’t show a substantial impact on world food prices. And because the model assumed, like the Michigan study, that organic farming would boost yields in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, the most optimistic scenario even had hunger-plagued sub-Saharan Africa exporting food surpluses. In other words, studies from the field show that the yield increases from shifting to organic farming are highest and most consistent in exactly those poor, dry, remote areas where hunger is most severe.

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Still, these conclusions won’t come as a surprise to many organic farmers. But even some supporters of organic farming shy away from even asking whether it can feed the world, simply because they don’t think it’s the most useful question. First, even if a mass conversion over, say, the next two decades, dramatically increased food production, there’s little guarantee it would eradicate hunger. The global food system can be a complex and unpredictable beast. It’s hard to anticipate how China’s rise as a major importer of soybeans for its feedlots, for instance, might affect food supplies elsewhere. (It’s likely to drive up food prices.) Or how elimination of agricultural subsidies in wealthy nations might affect poorer countries. (It’s likely to boost farm incomes and reduce hunger.) And would less meat eating around the world free up food for the hungry? (It would, but could the hungry afford it?)
What is clear is that organic farming will yield other benefits that are too numerous to name. Studies have shown, for example, that the “external” costs of organic farming—erosion, chemical pollution to drinking water, death of birds and other wildlife—are just one-third those of conventional farming. Surveys from every continent show that organic farms support many more species of birds, wild plants, insects, and other wildlife than conventional farms. And tests by several governments have shown that organic foods carry just a tiny fraction of the pesticide residues of their non-organic alternatives, while completely banning growth hormones, antibiotics, and many additives allowed in many conventional foods. There is even some evidence that crops grown organically have considerably higher levels of health-promoting antioxidants. A recent study by the International Fund for Agricultural Development found that the higher labor requirements often mean that “organic agriculture can prove particularly effective in bringing redistribution of resources in areas where the labor force is underemployed. This can help contribute to rural stability.”
These benefits will come even without a complete conversion to a sort of organic utopia. In fact, some experts think that a more hopeful, and reasonable, way forward is a sort of middle ground, where more and more farmers adopt the principles of organic farming even if they don’t follow the approach religiously. In this scenario, both poor farmers and the environment come out way ahead. And it’s likely that the greatest short-term benefits will come as the principles of organic farming rub off on nonorganic farmers, who will come to depend on just a small fraction of the chemicals that are currently used. Anywhere this middle path is adopted, pollution will go down, and yields will go up. And, since it will cost farmers less than the fullblown conversion, many more regions will likely adopt it.
So, the myth of low-yielding organic farming may be fading, but without a massive change of conscience from the world’s agricultural researchers and officials, we still won’t be pointed in the organic direction. And that could be the real problem for the world’s poor and hungry.
Brian Halweil is a Senior Researcher at Worldwatch and the author of Eat Here: Reclaiming Homegrown Pleasures in a Global Supermarket,which recently entered its second printing. The original version of this article appeared in WorldWatch Magazine (May-June 2006).