{"id":2619,"date":"2015-01-01T13:41:42","date_gmt":"2015-01-01T18:41:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.okraparadisefarms.com\/blog\/?p=2619"},"modified":"2015-01-01T13:44:03","modified_gmt":"2015-01-01T18:44:03","slug":"small-organic-farms-can-already-feed-the-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.okraparadisefarms.com\/blog\/2015\/01\/small-organic-farms-can-already-feed-the-world.html","title":{"rendered":"Small organic farms can (already) feed the world"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\r\n\r\n<\/a>\r\nResearch, including studies presented at the conference in Istanbul,\r\nis showing that organic agriculture can deliver reliably high yields\r\n”and that organic fields thrive in the face of disaster and\r\nduress, where chemical-reliant crops falter. Organic fields, for\r\nexample, fare significantly better than chemically managed ones in\r\nthe face of extreme weather, such as droughts or floods.\r\n<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n

\r\nAnna Lappe, for takepart, 4 November 2014,\r\n\r\nYes, Organic Farming Can Feed the World<\/a>,\r\n\r\n\r\n

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\r\nIf my experience last month in Turkey is any indication, the notion\r\nthat GMOs are the only way to feed a growing population is way out\r\nof step with both the leading thinkers on food and farming and the\r\nworld’s smallholder farmers ”who produce much of what the\r\nplanet eats and 80 percent of the food in Asia and sub-Saharan\r\nAfrica.\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\nThese farmers may not have money on their side, but I saw the power\r\nof strength in numbers at the Organic World Congress. Held this year\r\nin Istanbul, the conference brought together people from 81\r\ncountries to discuss the latest research from organic farm fields\r\nand to share private and public developments that promote organic\r\nagriculture.\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\nWhat I heard should have biotech execs shaking in their boots, or\r\ntheir penny loafers, as the case may be: Organic agriculture is\r\ntaking off around the world, especially where it’s needed most.\r\nAbout 80 percent of all organic producers are based in developing\r\ncountries, with India, Uganda, Mexico, and Tanzania leading the\r\ncharge. To date, 162 nations are now home to certified organic\r\nfarms, and in 2012 the 37.5 million hectares of farmland produced a\r\nharvest worth $63.8 billion. While that works out to less than 1\r\npercent of global agricultural land, the figure dramatically\r\nundercounts the actual amount of land farmed using organic\r\nprinciples, as many farmers are not part of an official\r\ncertification program. And consider that globally, organic\r\nagriculture has received a fraction of the subsidies and 0.4 percent\r\nof the research dollars funneled into chemical farming ventures.\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\nOne of the themes of the three-day gathering in October was that\r\nembracing these practices is increasingly being seen as key to food\r\nsecurity….\r\n<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n

\r\n\r\n<\/a>\r\nShe cites specifically\r\na 30-year Rodale study<\/a>\r\n(previously\r\n\r\nblogged here<\/a>)\r\nand\r\na study from Slovakia,\r\n\r\nComparison of organic and conventional farming system in term of energy\r\nefficiency<\/a>, by M. Klimekov\u00e1 and Z. Lehock\u00e1,\r\nwhich she says demonstrates that chemical farming takes more than 50%\r\nmore energy than organic farming.\r\nSee also Crop rotation for profit<\/a>.\r\n

\r\nThis appears to be the conference:\r\n\r\n18th<\/sup><\/small> IFOAM Organic World Congress,\r\nICC, 13-15 October 2014, Istanbul<\/a>;\r\nAnna Lappe was one of the keynote speakers.\r\nHere are\r\n\r\nthe papers<\/a> presented at the conference.\r\nSee the\r\nmain track results<\/a>,\r\nemphasizing that it’s not just about enough food, but also about:\r\n

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