Essay On Organic Farming

853 Words4 Pages
Organic Farming vs. Conventional Farming There are various reasons of why organic farming is more sustainable than conventional agriculture. Concisely, the most important reasons can be explained as under. If we grow food organically, it benefits the soil, water cycles and biodiversity. The author T. Singh (2004) writes that the Green Revolution technology “has been very successful in achieving spectacular results in food grain production during the last three decades. However, signs of fatigue in the natural resources have already emerged and have unleashed various agro-ecological problems. It has badly damaged the natural resource base of the country”. Organic agriculture, by contrast, improves soil fertility and its properties, such as…show more content…
A large number of farmers committed suicide in India over the last ten years due to this debt crisis. Small organic farms are more diversified than large ones, which reduces the risk of crop failure due to pests or extreme weather events and exposure to market fluctuations. Organic farming reduces operational costs because a very limited amount of external inputs, such as bio-pesticides and bio-fertilizers, are used. At the same time, the total average yield and net profit is usually higher in the long run, though there may be lower yields for some crops in certain conditions (Eyhorn 2005). Studies cited by Niggli (2010) have shown that 100% conversion to organic farming would have a negative impact on yields. It has been stated that yields will be negative by 20-40% in intensively farmed regions under best geo-climatic conditions, and by less than 20% in less favourable conditions. On the other hand, the author also refers to a comparative survey of 200 case studies (UNEP/UNCTAD 2008) which found that organic farming can increase yields by as much as 116% in subsistence agriculture and in regions with periodic droughts and floods, as is the case in many parts

More about Essay On Organic Farming

Open Document