Agroecology and Organic Farming as Approaches to Reducing the Environmental Impacts of Agricultural Chemicals

Agricultural productivity is the key to global food security. Modern conventional farming has substantially increased food production, but at the expense of serious environmental harm [[1][1]]. By contrast, organic production is regarded as a suitable and more sustainable alternative owing to its

Enhanced diversity of aquatic macroinvertebrate predators and biological pest control but reduced crop establishment in organic rice farming

Climate change presents new challenges for the management of social-ecological systems and the ecosystem services they provide. Although the instrument of payments for ecosystem services (PES) has emerged as a promising tool to safeguard or enhance the provision of ecosystem services (ES), little attention has been paid to the potential role of PES in climate change adaptation. As an external stressor climate change has an impact on the social-ecological system in which PES takes place, including the various actors taking part in the PES scheme. Following a short description of the conceptual link between PES and adaptation to climate change, we provide practical insights into the relationship between PES and adaptation to climate change by presenting results from a case study of a rural watershed in Kenya. Drawing upon the results of a participatory vulnerability assessment among potential ecosystem service providers in Sasumua watershed north of Nairobi, we show that PES can play a role in enhancing adaptation to climate change by influencing certain elements of adaptive capacity and incentivizing adaptation measures. In addition, trade-offs and synergies between proposed measures under PES and adaptation to climate change are identified. Results show that although it may not be possible to establish PES schemes based on water utilities as the sole source of financing, embedding PES in a wider adaptation framework creates an opportunity for the development of watershed PES schemes in Africa and ensures their sustainability. We conclude that there is a need to embed PES in a wider institutional framework and that extra financial resources are needed to foster greater integration between PES and adaptation to climate change. This can be achieved through scaling up PES by bringing in other buyers and additional ecosystem services. PES can achieve important coadaptation benefits, but for more effective adaptation outcomes it needs to be combined with vulnerability assessments and climate scenarios to ensure that these are realized and potential trade-offs between PES measures and adaptation measures minimized.

Organic farming provides social, economic and environmental benefits but it still occupies a small share of the overall agriculture sector. The objective of this study is to assess factors identifying the underlying issues leading farmers to adopt organic farming. The study was conducted in Chitwan district where indiscriminate use of agro-chemicals is very much existent but the concept of organic farming is also emerging especially in three village development committees within the district; namely Phoolbari, Shivanagar and Mangalpur. Based on field observation, the farming system is categorized into organic, partial organic and inorganic farming. Data from 285 purposively selected households were analyzed using Multinomial Logit model in Stata 13. Results show that older farmers are reluctant to change and thus has lower tendency to adopt organic farming. On the other hand, livestock holding is very crucial as it supplies the much needed manure for fertilizing the soil. More significantly membership in a group formed for the purpose of organic farming and the extent of activities such as training conducted through it has been very much successful in encouraging farmers to convert to organic or at least partial organic farming. Thus, formation of such groups in other areas could be the most effective tool for large scale conversion to organic farming.

Organic agriculture is an alternative production system that avoids the use of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers, and relies on biological pest control and on crop rotation, green manure and composts to maintain soil fertility. Although many comparisons have been made between organic and conventional agriculture in terms of crop yields, economic returns and other factors, only a few studies have compared their effects on mitigating climate change. The present review compares the effectiveness of organic and conventional agriculture in mitigating climate change. The review reveals that organic agriculture has a greater potential for mitigating climate change, largely due to its greater ability in reducing emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) including carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide (N2O) and methane (CH4). It also increases carbon sequestration in soils compared with that of conventional agriculture. In addition, many farming practices commonly adopted in organic agriculture such as rotation with leguminous crops, minimum or no tillage, and the return of crop residues favour the reduction of GHGs and the enhancement of soil carbon sequestration. The certification of farming practices as required in organic agriculture provides a transparent guarantee of organic principles and standards. This also allows the enforced adoption of new and effective practices aimed at improving the mitigation of climate change. Furthermore, organic agriculture is highly adaptable to climate change compared with conventional agriculture. However, greater recognition of the potential of organic agriculture for mitigating climate change is needed. At present, this recognition depends on the ability of organic yields to out-perform conventional yields, which has been shown to occur in developing countries. More research is needed to improve organic yields in developed countries and to improve the potential of mitigating climate change by organic agriculture. Future strategies for improving the effectiveness of organic agriculture in mitigating climate change are presented and discussed.

Summary Agricultural intensification is perceived to be a major cause of the decline in many European bat populations. Because organic farming prohibits the use of agrochemicals, we compared organic vs. conventional farm types to test the hypothesis that agricultural intensification based on high levels of agrochemical use has been a factor in bat population declines. Bat activity and species richness were compared on matched pairs of organic and conventional farms. Bat activity was quantified using acoustic surveys within specific habitats on farms in southern England and Wales. Eighty‐nine per cent of bat passes were identified to species level using artificial neural networks (ANN). A further 9% were identified to genus. Total bat activity was significantly higher on organic farms than on conventional farms. Significantly more bat passes were recorded over water on organic farms than on conventional farms. Foraging activity (quantified in two ways: total feedings buzzes and feeding buzzes per pass) was significantly higher on organic farms than on conventional farms. The dominant species on both farm types were Pipistrellus pipistrellus and Pipistrellus pygmaeus. Significantly more passes of Myotis species were recorded on organic farms than on conventional farms. This difference was also significant when water habitats were considered alone. The activity of both Myotis daubentonii and Myotis brandtii was significantly higher on organic farms than on conventional farms. The activity of Myotis bechsteinii and Myotis brandtii was significantly higher over organic water habitats than over conventional water habitats. Rhinolophus hipposideros and Rhinolophus ferrumequinum were only recorded on organic farms in wooded, arable and pasture habitats. Synthesis and applications. This study highlights the position of bats as bioindicators and victims of agricultural change. The differences in bat activity between farm types may reflect features such as taller hedgerows and better water quality on organic farms. Higher foraging activity also suggests that habitat quality in terms of prey availability is greater on organic farms. Less intensive farming benefits bats, and as the number of organic enterprises increases it may help to reverse declines in bat populations.

Organic farming is experiencing significant global growth, with an increase in the area under organic production, the number of producers, and the market value of organic products. In 2023, organic farming covered 98.9 million hectares worldwide, while the organic product market exceeded 136 billion euros. This paper analyzes the current status of organic farming, the main challenges it faces in the 21st century, and the opportunities for its further development. Key challenges include lower yields compared to conventional agriculture, limited land availability, the consequences of climate change, high certification costs, and a lack of infrastructure and education. Additionally, consumer trust and competition with conventional farming systems pose further obstacles to the expansion of organic production. On the other hand, technological innovations, policy support and subsidies, the development of local markets, and consumer education offer opportunities for improving the sector. Precision agriculture, biological pest control, artificial intelligence, and agroecological approaches can contribute to increasing the productivity and resilience of organic systems. Furthermore, investments in infrastructure, simplified certification processes, and greater consumer involvement through educational campaigns are key factors for the long-term success of organic farming. It is concluded that the further development of organic farming requires coordination between government institutions, research organizations, and the private sector. Through innovation, education, and strategic support, organic farming can become a key pillar of sustainable development and the preservation of natural resources for future generations.

Introduction: Among the various available tools in the field of natural resources and environmental management, the payment for ecosystem services (PES) is one of the market-based methods that is considered worldwide to protect the environment and ecosystem. PES is an important method for effective management of natural resources and public goods and one of the tools for managing degraded ecosystems and related environmental and economic services. Considering that Sefidrood is considered as the most important and valuable source of agricultural water supply and aquatic environment in Guilan province, and also the water quality of this important river is in a bad and very bad condition, this study was conducted using PES economic tools through payments by rice consumers in Guilan province to rice farmers and thus encouraging them to take environmentally friendly measures (organic agriculture) to reduce pollution of the Sefidrood River. Materials and Methods: This research was conducted using a choice experiment method. In our CE, each PES alternative is described by a set of attributes that include distribution of payments, contract duration, implementing organization, monitoring times, possibility to cancel and payments. First, to investigate the effect of different attributes of PES scheme on rice consumers' willingness to pay and their marginal utility, a conditional logit model was used to compare the results of random parameter logit model and latent class models with a base model. Then, the RPL and LC model was used to further investigate the invisible heterogeneity that exists in the behavior of respondents. The RPL model is an advanced model that allows attributes coefficients to change randomly among respondents. Therefore, instead of estimating a fixed coefficient for each attribute, two coefficients are estimated, which together describe the distribution of heterogeneous preferences of the respondents for this attribute. Results and Discussion: To confirm the CL model, the independence of irrelevant alternatives assumption was performed using the Hausman-McFadden test. Given that the value of chi-square statistics has become large and significant, therefore, the CL model is not suitable for investigating the effect of attributes on consumer’s willingness to pay, and more advanced models should be used. For this reason, RPL and LC models are estimated. According to the results of the RPL model, the highest willingness to pay is related to the monitoring times therefor indicating that consumers are willing to pay 1347 Tomans for more monitoring. The amount of willingness to pay for the duration of contract and distribution of payments is equal to 1326 and 914 Tomans, respectively, which indicates if the contracts are short-time and also more payments are made to low-income rice farmers, the willingness to pay will increase to 1326 and 914 Tomans, respectively. Based on the results of the LC model, in the first class, except for the contract duration, all other attributes were not statistically significant. In the second class, the distribution of payments, the contract duration and the monitoring times with a positive sign and the implementing organization with a negative sign are significant. Class membership coefficients for organic rice consumers indicate that the likelihood of being in second class depends significantly on the respondents' age, gender, and level of education. Conclusion: The results of RPL and LC models confirm the existence of heterogeneity in the preferences of organic rice consumers. Therefore, appropriate methods can be used to differentiate organic products and thus improve the utility of consuming these products. Consumers were also more inclined to have a short-time and high monitoring scheme, this result is not unexpected due to the novelty of the scheme. Therefore, it is recommended to start short-time schemes with high monitoring. Consumers also tended to make more payments to low-income rice farmers, so it is recommended that lower-income rice farmers be given priority in implementing the PES scheme. The results of both model showed that the distribution of payments and monitoring times had the highest priority for consumers in choosing the PES scheme, respectively. Therefore, in order to increase the participation of consumers in such schemes, it is recommended to include these attributes in the schemes. Also, although PES is not designed as a tool to reduce poverty, it can increase the incomes of low-income rice farmers and help their livelihoods. Given that such schemes have not yet been implemented in Iran, it is suggested that in order to increase consumer participation, various levels of attributes should be provided to the respondents.

This review provides an introduction to organic farming, its history and concepts, organic certification systems and governmental support, impacts to the environment and food security, the quality of organic food, and the impact of organic farming on human health. Organic farming is a holistic approach to agriculture and food systems that is based on agroecosystem health, soil fertility, reduction of inputs, and locally to regionally adapted farming systems. The first organic ideas were developed after World War I in Europe as an alternative to the existing conventional farming systems which induced rapid and crucial social and environmental changes in rural areas. Today, organic farming is growing rapidly on a global scale, with around 370 million hectares currently under certified organic management and a turnover of organic products amounting to 60 billion US dollars. Given that organic farming has environmental benefits, some governments are subsidizing organic farmers, while others establish legally valid organic standards that must be followed to enhance consumer trust in organic labeling.Many recent studies comparing organic and conventional farming have been performed, although almost exclusively in North America and Europe. These studies show that environmental impacts of organic farming are less than those from conventional farming, but the conclusions depend on the different farming systems used for comparison and on the parameters that were assessed. For soil parameters such as organic matter or aggregate stability, the effect from organic farming systems was positive compared to conventional farming systems, although contrary results exist in some cases. For nitrate leaching, study results are diverse and depend on production systems (animal husbandry, crop production, proportion of legumes). For greenhouse gas emissions, organic farming provides lower emissions on a per hectare basis compared to conventional farming, but the same or higher emissions on a product basis because of lower yields. If the yield gap between organic and conventional farming systems could be reduced, the potential for a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions would rise. Organic farming performed better with regard to biodiversity compared to conventional farming for most taxa assessed. The impact of organic farming on food security cannot be clearly assessed because studies on the performance of organic farming in developing countries are lacking. Currently, some authors argue that organic farmers in developing countries profit from organic production if they can realize a price premium for the products and reduce input costs.One of the most important consumer motivations for the purchase of organic products is their health benefits. Organic products performed better than conventional products for different food compounds by containing less pesticide residues that are harmful to human health, having more desirable bioactive substances, and in the case of organic meat and milk, having more desirable fatty-acid composition. Animal experiments have shown positive health impacts from organic food. Several studies conducted on rats have indicated higher immune system reactivity in organically fed rats compared to conventionally fed animals. Similar results have been obtained for chickens and cows.The rapid growth of organic farming also can be a threat to future development if the organic sector cannot maintain its integrity and credibility. Organic products are available not only in farmer markets but in on-farm shops and organic food stores and are becoming increasingly present in conventional supermarkets. This involves long supply-chains, large suppliers, as well as processing, distribution, and trade via conventional processors and wholesalers. This conventionalization of organic food-chains may challenge the credibility of the organic sector as an environmentally friendly and socially fair form of agriculture. As the organic sector depends very much on this credibility, the question of how to retain this authenticity will be a major concern for the future.

Increasing agricultural intensification has put farmland bird populations under great stress. Although organically managed farms tend to have higher densities of farmland birds than conventionally managed holdings, differences in crop management may also lead to differences in breeding success. With the use of agrochemicals prohibited on organic farms, weeds are controlled using mechanical methods that may pose a threat to ground‐nesting birds. This study compares the territory densities and nesting success of the Lapwing Vanellus vanellus on organic and conventional arable farms in the Netherlands. Territory densities were generally higher on organic farms, although in one year nesting success was lower on organic than on conventional farms. This was caused by higher nest loss resulting from farming activities on organic farms. There were no differences in predation rates. The results of this study show that breeding Lapwings may face potential threats on organic farms. To sustain or enhance Lapwing populations on these farms, additional conservation measures should be implemented.

Organic farming and host density affect parasitism rates of tortricid moths in vineyards

Conventional agricultural systems have become more intensive and pesticide-dependent over the last few decades. The contamination of the environment by pesticides, the use of mineral fertilisers, and habitat loss in many agroecosystems have led to a drastic decrease in plant and animal biodiversity. Ecosystem services provided by functional biodiversity (e.g., pollination, biological pest control) have also been negatively impacted. Conservation biocontrol aims to preserve and promote natural enemies to enhance pest control, avoid pest outbreaks and reduce pesticide reliance. However, despite a consensus on the main underlying principles, intentional practical applications are still rare. It is assumed that the diversity of habitats and resources in agroecosystems enhances the diversity and/or effectiveness of the natural enemies of pests. In this article, we argue that organic farming (OF) provides a promising framework for increasing conservation biocontrol at field and farm scales in agricultural landscapes. We looked at most of the commonly used OF practices at different spatio-temporal scales and discussed their effects on pest populations, natural enemy communities and biocontrol in agroecosystems. Several OF management practices such as crop diversification, use of organic fertilisers, diversification of resource plants at the field or landscape scales and land-use management are examined in our review. We particularly focused on possible strategies to enhance pest control measures in two case studies (i.e., orchard and annual crops) and discussed how and at which scales such strategies should be implemented. In the end, we identified knowledge gaps and bottlenecks that, if resolved, would help to enhance conservation biocontrol and applications in OF systems that aim to maximise both bottom-up (through plants) and top-down (through natural enemies) processes.

Abstract: Insects are the principal food for many animals, including bats (Chiroptera), and all species of bats in the United Kingdom feed over agricultural habitats. Bat populations are declining throughout Europe, probably in part as a result of agricultural intensification. Organic farming prohibits the use of agrochemicals, a major component of agricultural intensification, making it an ideal control for a study of intensive agricultural systems. To evaluate the impact of agricultural intensification on bat foraging, we quantified the availability of bat prey by comparing nocturnal aerial insects captured within habitats on 24 matched pairs of organic and conventional farms. Insects were identified to family and moths to species. We compared the abundance of 18 insect families commonly eaten by bats in the United Kingdom between farm types and tested for correlations of abundance with bat activity. Insect abundance, species richness, and moth species diversity were significantly higher on organic farms than on conventional farms. Insect abundance was significantly higher in pastural and water habitats on organic farms than in the same habitats on conventional farms. Of the 18 insect families that are important components of the bat diet, 5 were significantly more abundant on organic farms overall. Some were also more abundant within organic pastural, woodland, and water habitats than on conventional farmland habitats. The activity of bats that mainly ate Lepidoptera was significantly correlated with the abundance of this order. Our observations suggest that agricultural intensification has a profound impact on nocturnal insect communities. Because bats are resource limited, a reduction in prey availability through agricultural intensification will adversely affect bat populations. Less‐intensive farming benefits British bat populations by providing and maintaining diverse and structurally varied habitats, which in turn support a wide selection of insect prey for bats, including insect families that are significant components of the diet of a number of rare bat species.

This study was conducted to investigate the knowledge gaps regarding the use of agrochemicals by the farming communities in the Amhara Region, Ethiopia and its impact on beekeeping, crop and livestock production. The primary data were collected through household surveys, key informant interviews, focus group discussions and researchers’ observations. A total of 540 farmers (270 beekeepers and 270 non-beekeepers) were interviewed using a semi-structured questionnaire. The survey data was analyzed using SPSS software version 21, while the qualitative data was analyzed using content analysis. The results revealed that beekeeping contributes significantly to the livelihoods of smallholder farmers in the Amhara Region, mainly through the provision of hive products for home consumption and income but also for pollination services. The trends in the past decade showed that honeybee colony holdings and hive productivity had decreased due to indiscriminate use of agrochemicals, among others. Both beekeeper and non-beekeeper farmers in the study areas have been using different types of agrochemicals to control crop pests, diseases and weeds, and in some areas farmers used herbicides to clear weeds from pastureland. Farmers also stated that they are already aware of the negative effects of agrochemicals on honeybees. Nevertheless, the applications of agrochemicals are continuing without attitudinal changes. The results also showed that farmers purchase agrochemicals from legal as well as illegal vendors without proper understanding of their safe use and the expiry dates. Farmers’ use of agrochemicals in violation of the technical recommendations on their proper applications; they ignore risks and safety instructions, use unsafe storage facilities, do not use protective devices when applying agrochemicals, and dispose of agrochemical containers unsafely. The findings demonstrated that apart from the direct effects on honeybees, indiscriminate and inappropriate application of agrochemicals even poses risks to the lives of farmers. Beekeepers, non-beekeepers and both crop and livestock experts revealed that nowadays IPM has not been used by farmers as an alternative to synthetic agrochemicals. Farmers are also unaware of the legal frameworks available to protect honeybees from the negative effects of agrochemicals, and they have not developed local bylaws that can be used by farming communities to protect honeybees from the negative effects of agrochemicals. The results also showed that the direct economic losses incurred due to the loss of honey bee colonies from the indiscriminate application of agrochemicals run into ETB 11,520,000.00 /USD422,133.00/. Thus, the indiscriminate use of agrochemicals has become one of the major threats to the development of beekeeping, crop and livestock production. Therefore, very strong actions are needed by concerned and responsible stakeholders to save the lives of honeybees. The interventions to reduce agrochemical exposure should be implemented through context-specific and integrated approaches.

Governance and implementation challenges for mangrove forest Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES): Empirical evidence from the Philippines