23.10.07 - Organic farming could feed the world - back
Organic farming could feed the world
Contrary to the beliefs of some, a recent American university study suggests that not only planet-friendly organic farms can produce just as much food as chemical-filled conventional ones – they can produce about three times more food per farm.
This number comes from a study’s consideration of low-intensity conventional farms in developing countries, conducted by the University of Michigan. With so many of the world’s farmers working small plots in developing regions, though, the potential is clear.
Even in developed countries, the study results suggest organic and conventional farms yield comparable amounts of crops, claims Prof. Ivette Perfecto, Associate Professor of Natural Resources and Environment at the School of Natural Resources and Environment, entity responsible for the study.
The message is all the more important now, when many types of organic food are in short supply. The booming world market is buying up certain categories of organic products as quickly as they are produced.
If the potential exists to double or triple current yields on a good portion of the world’s farms, as the study suggests, farmers could provide plenty of diverse organic items for both local and foreign markets. "Corporate interest in agriculture and the way agriculture research has been conducted in land grant institutions, with a lot of influence by the chemical companies and pesticide companies as well as fertilizer companies all have been playing an important role in convincing the public that you need to have these inputs to produce food," said Prof. Perfecto.
"My hope is that we can finally put a nail in the coffin of the idea that you can't produce enough food through organic agriculture" .
Among the properties researchers analyzed was nitrogen availability. When soils were fertilized with natural green manure between growing seasons, the natural fertilizer provided enough nitrogen to replace synthetic fertilizers, researchers concluded.
The research was published Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems (2007), 22: 86-108
Cambridge University Press
