U8ETYL84

3265

24 décembre 2020 13:40

12 avril 2021 17:30

The agricultural sector is fed up with organic and conventional farmers trying to score points over each other, especially when there is a food or environmental crisis. The reality is we need to work together to try to avoid problems occurring and develop the best, most sustainable farming system we can rather than worry about its terminology. The paths of organic and conventional farms have diverged greatly over the last sixty years but both have achieved significant gains in productivity and environmental management over this time. With global food demand increasing the requirement for mineral resources , both for crop nutritional and petrochemical input, a method needs to be found to farm efficiently. On my travels to China, Kenya, South Africa and Austria I saw many examples of highly refined agricultural businesses which offered both financial and environmental benefits over the common practice. These examples of good practice were on both organic and conventional farms and there were clear examples where diversifying into an organic market has led to a change in farming techniques for the conventional farmed area towards organic principles. Household food security is an issue for over one third of the world’s population and this issue is being made worse by soil erosion and degradation. The world population is increasing and there is no extra land available to grow crops on, therefore, food must be produced more efficiently from the land that is available and this land must be cared for to ensure that future generations have the same opportunities. Soil erosion is a very serious problem in most tropical countries but is becoming more of a problem in the UK. Farming systems must take account of avoiding high risk situations and adopt techniques to minimise erosion. Organic farmers have often had to develop alternative production methods for weed and pest control to maintain satisfactory yields. Many of these techniques may become of greater interest to conventional farmers with rising energy costs impacting on the price of fertilizers and pesticides, together with increasing public and environmental pressures. Issues such as growing world population and less land availability to grow crops may require biotechnology as important part in food production. To find the best pathway the organic sector will need to engage with the conventional farming sector for a fruitful share of knowledge and allow further development. For agricultural systems to adapt they will need to take the best parts of all UK farming systems and use new technology to develop sustainable, efficient farming techniques.

None

• AB - Modalité bio
• FREDO durabilité
• GEO Global
• GEO Royaume-Uni
• comparaison

43

2008

1 janvier 2008