Marie Trydeman Knudsen

Global Development of Organic Agriculture: Challenges and Prospects

Preface: Modern agriculture and food systems, including organic agriculture, are undergoing a technological and structural modernization and are faced with a growing globalization. Organic agriculture (OA) can be seen as pionering efforts to create sustainable development based on other principles than mainstream agriculture. There are however large differences between the challenges connected to, on the one hand, modern farming and consumption in high-income countries and, on the other hand, smallholder farmers and resource-poor consumers in low-income countries. The point of departure is the increasing globalization and the production and trade of food and fodder and how this influences the role of OA. The main aim of this book is to provide an overview of the potential role and challenges of organic agriculture in this global perspective, as seen from different perspectives such as sustainability, food security and fair trade. Initially, the book provides an overall status of global trends in agriculture followed by discussions of sustainability, globalisation and the relative new concepts of ‘ecological justice’ and ‘political ecology’. Different views on economy and trade are furthermore discussed with a focus on ecological economics. Then, the status and possibilities of organic agriculture in developing countries are discussed, including problems of nutrient cycles and soil depletion plus issues on veterinary medicine. Furthermore, organic farming is related to the world food supply. The possibilities of knowledge exchange in organic agriculture are also evaluated and it is assessed how a large scale conversion to OA would impact on food security. Finally, prospects and challenges of organic farming in a globalized world are discussed in a synthesis chapter. Readers who seek first an overview and summary across the different chapters are recommended to start by reading the synthesis. The book springs from a so-called ‘knowledge synthesis’ initiated by The Danish Research Centre for Organic Food and Farming (DARCOF ) in January 2004 to provide an overview of the potential role of organic agriculture in a global perspective. In short, a knowledge synthesis analyses, discusses and synthesizes the existing knowledge on a subject not yet clarified and often disputed in relation to the main points of view. This work takes place in a group of experts from different fields that represent the different points of view on the subject. It is therefore important to include experts with different backgrounds and different perceptions of the subject. The work was initiated by five key questions: To which extent and under which circumstances: 1. Can organic production contribute to global food security? How? 2. Can organic production in developing countries contribute to a sustainable development? How? 3. Can organic certification protect natural resources, improve work conditions, etc.? How? 4. Can a fair global trade with organic products be realized? How? 5. Can organic research in high-income countries benefit organic agriculture in low-income countries? How? An international workshop, ‘Organic farming in a global perspective – globalisation, sustainable development and ecological justice’, was held in April 2004 in Copenhagen to provide inputs to the knowledge synthesis, discuss the issue and clarify ambiguous concepts. Experts from USA, Sweden, Austria, The Netherlands and Denmark were invited to give presentations on the international workshop. On the basis of presentations, discussions and group work at the workshop the outline of this book was laid down and the Danish and international experts started preparing the chapters. The knowledge synthesis on organic agriculture in a global perspective was performed by a group of Danish experts from a wide range of relevant fields in cooperation with international experts (see list of contributors). A website was established to communicate background material and working papers, and facilitate critical comments from other participants. Thus all chapters have been improved from reviews made by other experts, whom we wish to thank here. DARCOF wishes to thank all contributors to the book; their efforts are most gratefully acknowledged. Head of DARCOF, Erik Steen Kristensen August 2005

The impact of organic farming on food security in a regional and global perspective

The spread of organic and agro-ecological farming (OF) methods in developing countries has raised a debate whether a large scale adoption of OF will increase or decrease global food security. This will however depend on a number of socio-economic factors together with the relative yield levels of OF versus conventional farming systems. Relative yields again depend on a number of agro ecological factors and the characteristics of farming systems before conversion. In areas with intensive high-input agriculture, conversion to OF will most often lead to a reduction in crop yields per ha by 20-45 % in crop rotations integrated with leguminous forage crops. In many areas with low input agricultural systems farmers have little incentive or access to use chemical fertiliser and pesticides, and yields may increase when agro ecological principles are introduced. While present food production in theory is sufficient to cover the energy and protein needs of the global population there are still more than 740 million food insecure people, the majority of whom live in South Asia and Africa South of Sahara (SSA). This number will only decrease over the next 20 years if the present policies are changed. The food policy model IMPACT was used to project possible effects on food security of a large scale conversion to OF in Europe/North America (E/NA) and SSA. Results indicate that a conversion of approximately 50 % of E/NA agricultural area will have a 6-10 % impact on world prices on (non-meat) agricultural commodities under the assumptions of 35 % lower OF yields after conversion and 50 % higher yield growth rates compared with conventional crop yields. The indirect effect on food security in SSA would be very small up scaling experiences from case studies into scenarios for conversion of 50 % of agricultural area in SSA results in increased self-sufficiency and decreased net food import to the region. Given the assumption of higher relative yields in most organic crops compared with existing low input agriculture, there is potential for improving local food security in SSA if non-certified OF is supported by capacity building and research. More knowledge is needed, however, to confirm that these optimistic results of non-certified OF apply to large areas in SSA and other regions with low input agriculture.

Estimated N leaching losses for organic and conventional farming in Denmark

The impact of organic compared to conventional farming practices on N leaching loss was studied for Danish mixed dairy and arable farms using an N balance approach based on representative data. On mixed dairy farms a simple N balance method was used to estimate N surplus and N leaching loss. On arable farms the simple N balance method was unreliable due to changes in the soil N pool. Consequently, the FASSET simulation model was used to estimate N surplus, N leaching loss and the changes in the soil N pool. The study found a lower N leaching loss from organic than conventional mixed dairy farms, primarily due to lower N inputs. On organic arable farms the soil N pool was increasing over years but the N leaching loss was comparable to conventional arable farms. The soil N pool was primarily increased by organic farming practices and incorporation of straw. The highest increase in the soil N pool was seen on soils with a low level of soil organic matter. The level of N leaching loss was dependent on soil type, the use of catch crops and the level of soil organic matter, whereas incorporation of straw had a minor effect. N leaching was highest on sandy soils with a high level of soil organic matter and no catch crops. The study stresses the importance of using representative data of organic and conventional farming practices in comparative studies of N leaching loss.

Environmental assessment of organic juice imported to Denmark: a case study on oranges ( Citrus sinensis ) from Brazil

Growing global trade with organic products has given rise to a debate on the environmental impacts during both production and transport. Environmental hotspots of organic orange juice produced by smallholders in Brazil, processed and imported to Denmark, were identified in a case study using a life cycle approach. Furthermore, small-scale organic orange production was compared with small-scale conventional and large-scale organic orange production in the case study area in Brazil. Transport was the main contributor (58%) to the global warming potential of organic orange juice from small-scale farmers imported to Denmark, followed by the farm stage (23%), especially the truck transport of fresh oranges in Brazil and of reconstituted orange juice in Europe. Non-renewable energy use per hectare was significantly lower on the organic small-scale farms than on the conventional, with a similar pattern for global warming potential and eutrophication. Including soil carbon sequestration in organic plantations widened the difference in global warming potential between organic and conventional. Organic small-scale farms had a higher crop diversity than conventional, which may have a positive effect on biodiversity along with the spontaneous vegetation between the organic orange trees and the absence of toxic pesticides. Comparing small-scale with large-scale organic orange production, crop diversity was higher on the small-scale farms, while global warming potential, eutrophication potential and the use of copper per hectare were significantly lower, indicating that environmental impacts from small-scale differ from large-scale organic farms.

Organic agriculture and ecological justice: ethics and practice

Ecological justice is a challenging concept in relation to the current development of agriculture, because it positions social and ecological interests against market liberalism and economic growth. Ecological justice concerns fairness with regard to the common environment based on the idea that environments are fundamen-tally shared. This chapter investigates the role that ecological justice may have in relation to the global challenges of organic agriculture. We perform a philoso-phical analysis of the ethics of ecological justice and the relation to sustainability and globalization. On this basis, we discuss the challenges that this important concept poses to organic agriculture and how it can be put into organic practice. Organic agriculture is in an advanced position with regard to ecological justice, since it aims to interact in a positive way with the environment. But ecological justice also poses significant challenges to organic agriculture. The three main challenges are: the commodification of hitherto commons; external environ-mental and social costs that are not accounted for in the market; and growing distances in form of distant trade and ownership in the organic food systems. We conclude that the ideas of ecological justice can be promoted in three ways by means of organic agriculture: by implementing ecological justice more fully in the organic certification standards through incorporating a measure of ‘nearness’ and developing a fair organic trade; by promoting non-certified agriculture based on the organic principles as an alternative development strategy for local sustain-able communities and food security; and by organic agriculture serving as an alternative example for the broader implementation of ecological justice in agri-culture and society.

Sustainable veterinary medical practices in organic farming: a global perspective

Livestock production systems are the focus area of this chapter, where the prospects for an organic approach to veterinary treatment and disease control are discussed in particular. We have taken a case presentation approach to this topic by selecting some widely different farming systems to represent different challenges and opportunities for using and reducing veterinary medical products, as well as developing disease prevention and health-promoting strategies that meet the ideas of organic animal husbandry. The major challenge in organic livestock production systems is to ‘think the organic principles’ into a wide range of diverse systems under a wide range of circumstances and conditions, including systems which are not certified as ‘organic’ at the moment. We recommend that developing organic animal husbandry at all times requires a thorough analysis of the problems, opportunities and existing knowledge. All organic systems should allow animals to perform their natural behaviour as far as possible, and naturalness is an important principle also of organic livestock farming. We consider various organic approaches to breeding for disease resistance (use of indigenous breeds), the role of vaccination, traditional medicine and alternatives to biomedical treatments and other approaches to disease management. We have given particular emphasis on the need for a reduction in the use of antimicrobial veterinary drugs, as we can see some potential for a reduction of dependency on veterinary medicine, and – when successful – the associated problems of drug residues and resistance. The potential for the control of vector-borne diseases in the development of organic systems in tropical areas is also included in the discussion. In North Europe and large areas of the north-western world, production diseases related to high yield and performance dominate, whilst in the tropical regions the risk of infectious and epidemic diseases is a greater concern. The development of organic farming must always be careful not to threaten local and regional disease control programmes, particularly where the diseases are zoonotic in nature, are highly infectious or are of widespread economic importance, e.g Rinderpest and foot and mouth disease. According to experiences from the USA and Europe, effectiveness of organic approaches to health management are not always immediate. Whole communities can benefit from implementing and organizing an organic approach to disease prevention, e.g. in the case of communal grazing systems.

Possibilities for closing the urban rural nutrient cycles

This Chapter discuss the potential of organic farming for contributing to sustainable development, mainly in lw-income countries, by integrating urban settlements with rual communities, through the recycling of domestic and household waste.