A thread on ORGANIC FARMING.
Part one : background and definition
PS: It's Woman's Month 🌱💚
Part one : background and definition
PS: It's Woman's Month 🌱💚
As populations have grown, farming practices have become more intensified to maximise crop yields and ensure we can feed the ever growing population #foodsecurity. Guys, there's 7,594 BILLION people on earth..(World Bank 2018)
Fertilisers and pesticides are used on crops, and animals may be kept inside in more densely packed sheds to maximise i.e milk yields, or egg production, or SPEED up the time needed for the animal to be ready to be sent to market for meat.
An alternative to conventional farming is ORGANIC FARMING . ORGANIC FARMING currently accounts for about 1% of agricultural land worldwide. It focuses on sustainability and is thought to have less detrimental effects on the environment than conventional farming.
This has led to it being proposed as an alternative to conventional agriculture for helping to overcome the climate change crisis we are currently experiencing. The debate continues, as it is not a perfect solution.
In theory, organic farming should NOT use chemical fertilisers, pesticides or feed additives for livestock. It requires the farmer to use more natural alternatives. This results in lower YIELDS.. And you know, we all want to make more to sell more... But..
The farmer can sell their produce at a HIGHER price because the consumer also believes the produce is of a higher quality.
Instead of fertilisers, manure is used. This recycles waste and improves the soil structure. However, it is smelly 😂 and more difficult to apply than chemical fertilisers, and also means the farmer has less control over the mineral content they are putting into their soils.
Crop rotation is used to reduce disease building up in the soils and to strengthen the soil composition. Certain crops, such as the legume family (so like peas and beans) fix nitrogen from the air and increase the nitrates in the soil. This makes the soil much more fertile.
Farmers rotate legumes with their other crops. Growing multiple crops is however less efficient and produces lower yields than specialising in one or few crops HOWEVER....
Instead of using herbicides(chemicals) weeding is the preferred organic farming technique. This is of course much more environmentally friendly because it is chemical free but it is very labour intensive. Yoh!! Although this does mean more jobs available, which is a great thing👍
For example, naturally occurring pesticides such as pyrethrin and rotenone are permitted, while synthetic fertilizers and pesticides are generally prohibited. Synthetic substances that are allowed: copper sulfate, elemental sulfur and Ivermectin.
Genetically modified organisms, nanomaterials, human sewage sludge, plant growth regulators, hormones, and antibiotic use in livestock husbandry are prohibited.❌❌❌❌❌
ORGANIC FARMING is thought to maintain the biodiversity better than conventional farming because fewer chemicals are used. There are MORE bees🐝🐝(Yay!) and insects in an area because pesticides haven’t been used. Weeds and non-crop plants can grow as herbicides aren’t used.
Biodiversity benefits the food chain across all levels, from the plants up to the animals.🌱🐝🐮 Everyone benefits. These are the theories of organic farming, and is how we farmed for the one hundred thousand years before the industrial revolution.
It is generally thought that organic farming is much better for biodiversity, and also produces a healthier product because less chemicals are used on it🌱💚
