Why Sustainable Agriculture?

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Why Sustainable Agriculture?http://www.indsp.org/ISPreportSummary.php

{Mail sent to me by Sri Kisan Mehta}1. Higher productivity and yields, especially in the Third WorldSome 8.98 million farmers have adopted sustainable agriculturepractices on 28.92 million hectares in Asia, Latin America and Africa.Reliable data from 89 projects show higher productivity and yields:50-100% increase in yield for rainfed crops, and 5-10% for irrigatedcrops. Top successes include Burkina Faso, which turned a cerealdeficit of 644 kg per year to an annual surplus of 153 kg; Ethiopia,where 12 500 households enjoyed 60% increase in crop yields; andHonduras and Guatemala, where 45 000 families increased yields from400-600 kg/ha to 2 000-2 500 kg/ha.Long-term studies in industrialised countries show yields for organiccomparable to conventional agriculture, and sometimes higher.2. Better soilsSustainable agricultural practices tend to

reduce soil erosion, aswell as improve soil physical structure and water-holding capacity,which are crucial in averting crop failures during periods of drought.Soil fertility is maintained or increased by various sustainableagriculture practices. Studies show that soil organic matter andnitrogen levels are higher in organic than in conventional fields.Biological activity has also been found to be higher in organic soils.There are more earthworms, arthropods, mycorrhizal and other fungi,and micro-organisms, all of which are beneficial for nutrientrecycling and suppression of disease.3. Cleaner environmentThere is little or no polluting chemical-input with sustainableagriculture. Moreover, research suggests that less nitrate andphosphorus are leached to groundwater from organic soils.Better water infiltration rates are found in organic systems.Therefore, they

are less prone to erosion and less likely tocontribute to water pollution from surface runoff.4. Reduced pesticides and no increase in pestsOrganic farming prohibits routine pesticide application. Integratedpest management has cut the number of pesticide sprays in Vietnam from3.4 to one per season, in Sri Lanka from 2.9 to 0.5 per season, and inIndonesia from 2.9 to 1.1 per season.Research showed no increase in crop losses due to pest damage, despitethe withdrawal of synthetic insecticides in Californian tomatoproduction.Pest control is achievable without pesticides, reversing crop losses,as for example, by using 'trap crops' to attract stem borer, a majorpest in East Africa. Other benefits of avoiding pesticides arise fromutilising the complex inter-relationships between species in anecosystem.5. Supporting biodiversity and using

diversitySustainable agriculture promotes agricultural biodiversity, which iscrucial for food security and rural livelihoods. Organic farming canalso support much greater biodiversity, benefiting species that havesignificantly declined.Biodiverse systems are more productive than monocultures. Integratedfarming systems in Cuba are 1..45 to 2.82 times more productive thanmonocultures. Thousands of Chinese rice farmers have doubled yieldsand nearly eliminated the most devastating disease simply by mixedplanting of two varieties.Soil biodiversity is enhanced by organic practices, bringingbeneficial effects such as recovery and rehabilitation of degradedsoils, improved soil structure and water infiltration.6. Environmentally and economically sustainableResearch on apple production systems ranked the organic system firstin environmental and economic

sustainability, the integrated systemsecond and the conventional system last. Organic apples were mostprofitable due to price premiums, quicker investment return and fastrecovery of costs.A Europe-wide study showed that organic farming performs better thanconventional farming in the majority of environmental indicators. Areview by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations(FAO) concluded that well-managed organic agriculture leads to morefavourable conditions at all environmental levels.7. Ameliorating climate change by reducing direct & indirect energy useOrganic agriculture uses energy much more efficiently and greatlyreduces CO2 emissions compared with conventional agriculture, bothwith respect to direct energy consumption in fuel and oil and indirectconsumption in synthetic fertilizers and pesticides.Sustainable agriculture restores soil

organic matter content,increasing carbon sequestration below ground, thereby recovering animportant carbon sink. Organic systems have shown significant abilityto absorb and retain carbon, raising the possibility that sustainableagriculture practices can help reduce the impact of global warming.Organic agriculture is likely to emit less nitrous dioxide (N2O),another important greenhouse gas and also a cause of stratosphericozone depletion.8. Efficient, profitable productionAny yield reduction in organic agriculture is more than offset byecological and efficiency gains. Research has shown that the organicapproach can be commercially viable in the long-term, producing morefood per unit of energy or resources.Data show that smaller farms produce far more per unit area than thelarger farms characteristic of conventional farming. Though the yieldper unit area of one

crop may be lower on a small farm than on a largemonoculture, the total output per unit area, often composed of morethan a dozen crops and various animal products, can be far higher.Production costs for organic farming are often lower than forconventional farming, bringing equivalent or higher net returns evenwithout organic price premiums. When price premiums are factored in,organic systems are almost always more profitable.9. Improved food security and benefits to local communitiesA review of sustainable agriculture projects in developing countriesshowed that average food production per household increased by 1.71tonnes per year (up 73%) for 4.42 million farmers on 3.58 millionhectares, bringing food security and health benefits to localcommunities.Increasing agricultural productivity has been shown to also increasefood supplies and raise incomes, thereby reducing

poverty, increasingaccess to food, reducing malnutrition and improving health andlivelihoods.Sustainable agricultural approaches draw extensively on traditionaland indigenous knowledge, and place emphasis on the farmers'experience and innovation. This thereby utilises appropriate, low-costand readily available local resources as well as improves farmers'status and autonomy, enhancing social and cultural relations withinlocal communities.Local means of sale and distribution can generate more money for thelocal economy. For every £1 spent at an organic box scheme fromCusgarne Organics (UK), £2.59 is generated for the local economy; butfor every £1 spent at a supermarket, only £1.40 is generated for thelocal economy.10. Better food quality for healthOrganic food is safer, as organic farming prohibits routine pesticideand herbicide use, so harmful chemical

residues are rarely found.Organic production also bans the use of artificial food additives suchas hydrogenated fats, phosphoric acid, aspartame and monosodiumglutamate, which have been linked to health problems as diverse asheart disease, osteoporosis, migraines and hyperactivity.Studies have shown that, on average, organic food has higher vitaminC, higher mineral levels and higher plant phenolics – plant compoundsthat can fight cancer and heart disease, and combat age-relatedneurological dysfunctions – and significantly less nitrates, a toxiccompound.Sustainable agricultural practices have proven beneficial in allaspects relevant to health and the environment. In addition, theybring food security and social and cultural well-being to localcommunities everywhere. There is an urgent need for a comprehensiveglobal shift to all forms of sustainable agriculture.-- Kisan

Mehta Priya SalviSave Bombay Committee and Prakruti1203, Kanchunjunga "A", Plot 20, Sector 11, Koparkhairne,Navi Mumbai 400709, India.www.savebombaycommittee.orgKisan Mehta: 0091 9223448857Priya Salvi: 0091 9324027494"It is now 30 years since I have been confining myself to the treatment ofchronic diseases. During those 30 years I have run against so many histories of littlechildren who had never seen a sick day until they were vaccinated and who, in the severalyears that have followed, have never seen a well day since. I couldn't put my finger onthe disease they have. They just weren't strong. Their resistance was gone. They wereperfectly well before they were vaccinated. They have never been well since. "---Dr. William Howard Hay

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