Benefits Of Organic Agriculture Research Articles

Climate and landscape composition explain agronomic practices, pesticide use and grape yield in vineyards across Italy

ContextWorldwide, organic farming is being promoted as one of the main alternatives to intensive conventional farming. However, the benefits of organic agriculture are still controversial and need to be tested across wide environmental gradients. ObjectiveHere, we carried out an observational study to test how agronomic practices, pest management, environmental impact and yield of conventional and organic vineyards changed along wide climatic and landscape gradients across Italy. MethodsWe used a block design with 38 pairs of conventional and organic vineyards across Italy. Results and conclusionsMost agronomic practices did not differ between conventional and organic vineyards. By contrast, landscape composition and climate were strong predictors of management in both systems. First, increasing semi-natural areas around the vineyards reduced pesticide pressure and related environmental impacts, but was also associated with lower yield. Second, irrespective of the farming system, a warm and dry climate was associated with reduced fungicide pressure. Conventional farming had a yield gain of 40% in cold and wet climate compared to organic but the yield gap disappeared in the warmest regions. SignificanceIn both farming systems, we observed a large variability in management practices that was mainly explained by climate and landscape composition. This large variability should be considered when evaluating the benefits and drawbacks of different farming systems under contrasting environmental contexts.

Factors Affecting Farmers' Perceptions Towards Benefits of Organic Farming

This study analyzes the factors affecting the perceptions of organic farmers in Kilis regarding the benefits of organic agriculture. For this reason, data was collected by conducting a face-to-face survey of 279 of 445 farmers in Kilis who produce organic olive oil. The multivariate PROBIT regression method was used for data analysis. According to the regression results, the increase in the age or experience of the farmer increases the probability of seeing the benefit of organic farming as preserving the organic components in the soil. On the other hand, women are more likely to see the conservation of organic components in the soil as a benefit of organic farming than men. As the income level increases, the cost emerges as a benefit of organic agriculture. Compared to women, men see the benefit of organic farming as reducing the cost of production. The effect of the independent variables used in the study on the dependent variable of producing highly competitive products is statistically insignificant. Farmers who make a living only from olive agriculture are more likely to see the environmentally friendly option as the benefit of organic agriculture, while the situation is the opposite for those who are members of the olive oil union. Compared to farmers with 10 years or less of experience, those with 21-25 and 26 or more years of experience are more likely to see health as the benefit of organic farming.

Benefits of Organic Agriculture under the Perspective of the Bioeconomy: A Systematic Review

The opportunities for the global growth of the bioeconomy (BE) are generated by the need to expand the food supply for an increasing world population without compromising the environment even further. Organic agriculture (OA) claims to be more environmentally friendly than conventional agriculture and capable of addressing sustainable development objectives by using green technologies, resulting in economic, social, and ecological benefits. The aim of this paper is to investigate the relation between OA and BE through a systematic literature review. We addressed the benefits of OA under perspective of the main aspects of BE. As demonstrated by previous papers assessed on this review, OA can be a means to facilitate strategies for the use of renewable resources to mitigate the emergencies arising from global warming, as claimed by the BE concept. This article introduces a necessary discussion due the lack of previous studies reporting the capacity of OA to connect with the BE. As a final contribution, we present a conceptual framework characterizing potential benefits of OA under the perspective of BE, for organic farmers and researchers to advance in sustainability and green innovation.

Organic agriculture: The trade-off between financial and non-financial benefits

The threats of climate change have compelled humans to consider the environmental impact of their decisions, including those relating to agricultural practices. Organic agriculture is believed to be a mitigating factor when it comes to climate change. This paper explores the perceptions of organic farmers regarding the benefits of organic agriculture, from a financial and non-financial perspective. It also highlights the trade-off between the perceived non-financial and financial benefits of organic agriculture. A convenience sample of 26 farmers was obtained. The utility of a convenience sample was necessary due to the unavailability of a complete database of organic farms in South Africa. Results indicated that the perceived non-financial benefits of organic agriculture were considered to be the most important consideration for the decision to farm organically. The results confirmed and augmented those found by other authors, namely that the environmental benefits of organic agriculture were considered to be very important to organic farmers.

Organic agriculture in Serbia

Organic agriculture, or at least its basic principles, was introduced, as an idea, in the world in the beginning of the 20th century and has been present since. Today's principles of organic agriculture were established in 1972 by founding the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFAOM). The aim of this study was to analyse concept, idea and basic principles of organic agriculture as to give an answer why does it provide chances for the development of agriculture in the world and in our country? In Serbia, organic agriculture has been present for almost 30 years, but it is still seeking its place. It could be said, it is on the very begging in relation to the rest of the world. The reason for this is the specific production technology that increases the price of production inputs, the economic situation in the country, insufficient training of farmers and their inadequate knowledge about importance and benefits of organic agriculture. Great natural potential and unpolluted natural resources are Serbia's potentials for the development of this branch of agriculture. The largest areas with organic farms are in Vojvodina, but under developed rural areas and small farms should also seek their chances in such cultivation. Today, in the world, areas with organic agriculture amount to 0.9% of the total agricultural area. The highest average percentage of these areas is in Europe (6.2%). As many as eight countries have an average over 10%, while there are only 0.44% of such areas in Serbia. Organic agriculture is not just a production method, but also a new way of living of modern man. It is a return to old values and preservation of new ones. Export of such products is the only chance for our farmers, due to the economic situation, but it is necessary to develop the network of extension services that will spread the knowledge and create prerequisites that will provide better access to both the production and the products to an average farmer in our country.

Sustaining without Changing: The Metabolic Rift of Certified Organic Farming

Many proponents of organic farming claim that it is a sustainable alternative to conventional agriculture due to its reliance on natural agro-inputs, such as manure based fertilizers and organic pesticides. However, in this analysis we argue that although particular organic farming practices clearly benefit ecosystems and human consumers, the social context in which some organic farms develop, limit the potential environmental benefits of organic agriculture. Specifically, we argue that certified organic farming’s increased reliance on agro-inputs, such as organic fertilizers and pesticides, reduces its ability to decrease global water pollution. We review recent research that demonstrates the environmental consequences of specific organic practices, as well as literature showing that global organic farming is increasing its reliance on agro-inputs, and contend that organic farming has its own metabolic rift with natural water systems similar to conventional agriculture. We use a fixed-effects panel regression model to explore how recent rises in certified organic farmland correlate to water pollution (measured as biochemical oxygen demand). Our findings indicate that increases in the proportion of organic farmland over time increases water pollution. We conclude that this may be a result of organic farms increasing their reliance on non-farm agro-inputs, such as fertilizers.

Organic agriculture: the trade-off between financial and non-financial benefits

The threats of climate change have compelled humans to consider the environmental impact of their decisions, including those relating to agricultural practices. Organic agriculture is believed to be a mitigating factor when it comes to climate change. This article explores the perceptions of organic farmers regarding the benefits of organic agriculture, from a financial and non-financial perspective. It also highlights the trade-off between the perceived non-financial and financial benefits of organic agriculture. A convenience sample of 26 farmers was obtained. The utility of a convenience sample was necessary due to the unavailability of a complete database of organic farms in South Africa. Results indicated that the perceived non-financial benefits of organic agriculture were considered to be the most important consideration for the decision to farm organically. The results confirmed and augmented those found by other authors, namely that the environmental benefits of organic agriculture were considered to be very important to organic farmers.

Is organic diet really necessary for children?

Pesticides are a wide class of phytochemicals commonly used in conventional agriculture. Most of them are characterized by being very toxic to humans and persistent in the environment, and represent long-term dangers as they biomagnify up the food-chain. Humans, and particularly breastfed babies, are at the top of the food-chain since they ingest more food and water per unit body weight than adults, so any exposure is greater in proportion to their size. For such a reason, dietary intake of pesticides represents the major source of exposure for infants and children. Since they are growing so quickly, infants and young children are more susceptible to the effects of pesticide exposure than adults [1]. Their internal organs are still developing and maturing and the enzymatic, metabolic, and immune systems are less efficient than those of an adult. Furthermore, it has been shown that there are “critical periods” in human development when exposure to a toxin can permanently alter the way in which an individual’s biological system operates. Children’s exposure to pesticides has been linked to a wide range of disease, including asthma, ADHD, autism and cancer [2]. A maximum residue level (MRL) is the highest level of a pesticide residue that is legally tolerated in/on food or feed when pesticides are applied correctly, so that the amounts of residues found in food must be safe for consumers and must be as low as possible. However, the toxicity was set in the adult population, not on children, and it does not take into account the multiresidue in food. Therefore is a priority for children health to reduce exposure to contaminated food, similarly to baby food, where no pesticide residues are admitted according to the European Directive. Interventional studies have shown that an organic diet reduces children’s exposure to pesticides, and when kids switched from a conventional to an organic diet, urinary pesticide metabolites dropped to almost undetectable levels [3]. Organic food also contributes to increasing nutritional quality: a recent meta-analysis reported that organic food is richer in vitamins and antioxidants compared to conventional ones [4]. The environmental benefits of organic agriculture to air, soil and water, consist of lowering the total toxic burden to our ecosystems. As demand for organic foods continues to grow, more farmers are likely to view organic methods as a viable and marketable option, helping to stabilize supply and price.

"La misma realidad de cada lugar es diferente" ("The same reality of each place is different"): A Case Study of an Organic Farmers Market in Lima, Peru

Studies of alternative food networks have proliferated in Europe and North America while relatively little attention has been paid to similar networks in the global South. An organic farmers market in Lima, Peru, serves as a case study to examine developments in the domestic market for organic produce in Peru. Drawing from interview data and participant observations with pioneering organic farmers and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) affiliated with the farmers market, this paper investigates how the context of a developing country reaffirms and/or challenges alternative food network (AFN) conceptualizations derived from Northern research sites. The aim of this research is to expand our understanding of alternative food networks in a global context. Findings suggest that while the farmers market in Peru replicates many challenges and opportunities ascribed to similar market-based initiatives in the global North, the developing country context encourages a different reading of these similarities. This exploratory examination of an AFN in Peru suggests that this organic farmers market has created novel economic opportunities for ecologically minded entrepreneurs and organic farmers in rural communities far from the point of sale. Although constrained by a relatively small demographic of affluent, conscientious consumers, the organic market demonstrates the potential to improve rural livelihoods while raising consumer awareness about the benefits of organic agriculture.

Reaching out to organic agriculture for sustainability in agribusiness

The rapid economic development of the Asia-Pacific region is causing climate changes, altering the growth of the agricultural markets, raising concern on issues related to food security and healthy food consumption. Countries in this region are realising the need to adopt sustainable agricultural practices. This paper with the help of an exhaustive literature review examines the potential of organic agriculture in the Asia-Pacific region with the focus being on its contribution towards sustainable development. The paper begins with reviewing the agriculture sector in the Asia-Pacific region then the benefits of organic agriculture are discussed and finally the scope of organic agriculture and the issues inhibiting its development across the Asia-Pacific region are examined. A simple framework calling for the coordinated efforts of all the stakeholders to ensure sustainable development of organic agriculture is also proposed.

Effects of Chemical Use in Farming: An Area for Social Work Intervention

Despite the fact that agriculture is an age old profession, the recent trends in agricultural practices have caused massive damage to the environment. The contemporary agricultural practices that use chemical fertilisers, herbicides and pesticides are posing serious threat to soil, water and air resources as well as the health of the consumers and producers of agriculture products. Punjab pioneered in the adoption of green revolution technology and the agriculture scenario in Punjab today is unsustainable agriculture, depleted farm lands, declining water table, polluted soil, water and air resources, indebted peasantry and debt related suicides and serious health issues for the people of Punjab. In this vane, the paper talks about the hazardous consequences of indiscriminate use of chemicals in farming, adoption of organic farming and the myths and misconceptions of organic farming. The paper also suggests social work intervention to bring attitudinal change for this switch over from conventional farming to organic farming, to generate awareness among the masses about the ill effects of use of chemicals on health, environment and other natural resources, benefits of organic agriculture and for removing myths about organic farming.

Analysis of the Environmental Benefits of Organic Agriculture

Environmental protection has draw the attention of the world with the today's environmental pollution increasingly serious, organic agriculture as a new agricultural development model which has less impact on the environment and sustainable development had rapidly developed and promoted in the word. This article mainly analyses and evaluates the advantages and benefits of organic agriculture in environmental protection, to demonstrate their environmental characteristics, and fully affirmed the contribution of organic agriculture in terms of environmental protection so that to provide a reference for the development of organic agriculture.

Some Policy Suggestions for Promoting Organic Agriculture in Asia

The benefits of organic agriculture have not been realized to their full potential, even though the organic market has been steadily expanding due to rapid economic growth and increasing environmental and health concerns in Asia. Organic agriculture has largely been promoted under the umbrella of low-chemical and environmentally friendly agriculture with different countries at different stages of establishing their own certification systems. Although overall benefits are expected from a harmonized certification system, Asian countries need to tailor their national organic promotion policies to suit diverse national circumstances and to improve their technical and institutional capacity to implement such policies.

Benefits of organic agriculture as a climate change adaptation and mitigation strategy in developing countries

Organic agriculture as an adaptation strategy to climate change and variability is a concrete and promising option for adaptation in rural communities. Organic agriculture has additional potential as a mitigation strategy. This text is a short review article on this topic. Adaptation and mitigation based on organic agriculture can build on well-established practice, as organic agriculture is a sustainable livelihood strategy with decades of experience in several climate zones and under a wide range of specific local conditions. The financial requirements of organic agriculture as an adaptation or mitigation strategy are low. Further research is needed on yields in organic agriculture and its mitigation and sequestration potential. Other key critical points are information provision and institutional structures such as market access.

Benefits of organic agriculture as a climate change adaptation and mitigation strategy in developing countries

This article was submitted without an abstract, please refer to the full-text PDF file.

The Brazilian consumer's understanding and perceptions of organic vegetables: a Focus Group approach

Focus Group is a tool which generates, through interview sessions with a small number of participants, preliminary data to be used in subsequent quantitative stages. Many consumer studies use qualitative research with the aim of obtaining information and opinions on a specific product or situation. The objective of the present study was to obtain knowledge on the opinion, understanding and perception of the Brazilian consumer with respect to vegetables, focusing on organic products, using Focus Group Sessions. Four Focus Group Sessions were held with men and women in different environments, following a previously elaborated interview guide. In this study, it was observed that the consumers demonstrated being interested in having a healthy diet, based on fruit, vegetables and natural products. However, only a few declared consuming organic foods. Some participants did not know what the term organic meant, and most of them think that organic products are still very expensive, are not easily available in the supermarkets, do not have a good appearance, mainly in terms of size and packaging, and their certification is not always trustworthy. Almost all participants stated that they read package labels and among the items most observed were best-before date, nutritional information, production system and price. This study has identified important vegetable attributes perceived by the consumer, favouring the planning of a subsequent quantitative research. The results suggest that more information on the benefits of organic agriculture has to be passed on to consumers in order to contribute to a higher consumption of such products.

Organic Agriculture for Poverty Reduction: A 'Growth Plus...' Approach Applied to the Case of Thailand

In this paper we have examined some aspects of OA in certain regions of Thailand. In particular we have looked at the poverty reduction potential of OA from a 'growth plus...' theoretical and strategic perspective for poverty reduction (Khan and Weiss 2006). We have attempted to do this in some detail by considering both income and capabilities aspects of poverty. We have looked at two indicators of capabilities in addition to income. These are health and education. In particular, we have examined whether or not conversion from conventional chemical agriculture to organic agriculture could help alleviate poverty on an individual and household scale over a medium term of 5-10 years in terms of enhancing both income and capabilities. However, it turns out that because of the nature of the conversion process and the beginning stages of growth of organic production in Thailand at present, a great deal of short term poverty alleviation through organic agriculture by itself is not possible. This will exclude those in extreme poverty in the very short run from the potential benefits of organic agriculture. There could be exceptions for agricultural laborers because organic agriculture (OA) production is more labor intensive than conventional production. Our focus was on the North and Northeastern regions because that is where OA production is most prevalent. It is also where OA conversion could aid most in poverty alleviation because they are the regions where the highest percent of the population is impoverished (NSO). Although there may be some benefits for those in urban areas, apart from direct beneficiaries in rural areas, OA would benefit primarily the government because of lessened demands on social resources and the private sector, mainly exporters. With respect to particular functionings and capabilities indicators, it is unclear whether or not conversion to OA can increase educational opportunities in rural Thailand. On one hand farmers are theoretically able to increase their incomes and therefore would be more able to afford the costs associated with sending their children to school. This includes lost labor and direct school fees. However, since OA is more labor intensive farmers may be more likely to pull their children out of school to have them assist with farm work. This could be exacerbated by the often-asserted idea that organic and cash crop markets are less stable than conventional crops because of changing demand for products and rapidly changing consumer preferences. As far as health is concerned, the conversion to OA can mitigate some of the adverse health consequences of chemical agriculture. Many studies have proven the harmful health effects of agricultural chemicals. This is generally borne out by our data and the positive health consequences of OA can be confirmed. Thus, the overall poverty reduction impact of conversion to OA in these areas of Thailand is mixed and distributional consequences vary. This confirms our 'growth plus...' hypothesis. More than just pure growth is needed in OA if problems of both overall poverty and extreme poverty specifically in rural Thailand are to be tackled effectively.