Box 22B Organic agricultural practices

Modern agricultural practices have brought with them a number of serious on- and off-farm environmental impacts, and the recognition of these by consumers has put increasing pressure on agriculture to develop less damaging alternative practices. There is consequently an increasing interest in Western and Northern Europe in 'organic' farming, and an expanding, though still tiny, market for organically produced crops. Produce tends to be expensive because of the higher labour intensity of the farming methods used. Organic farming techniques are not yet practised widely in Europe, accounting for less than 0.5 per cent of farms and of agricultural area in the EU, and less than 1 per cent of each in EFTA countries. Such practices are almost non-existent in Central and Eastern Europe, and in only a few of these countries can organic farms be found; in 1992, Hungary had about 100 farms covering about 3500 hectares, and in the former Czechoslovakia there were about 130 organic farms covering about 15 000 ha.

The features that make organic farming distinct from traditional farming affect a wide range of practices. Organic farmers use new ecological methods as well as selected traditional techniques. Methods rely primarily on farm-derived, renewable resources in preference to external synthetic chemical inputs such as pesticides and fertilisers. As far as possible, these systems rely on extended and more diversified use of crop rotations, crop residues, animal manures, use of legumes, green manures, off-farm organic wastes, and aspects of biological pest control to maintain soil productivity, to supply plant nutrients, and to control pests. However, other elements of modern farming methods are also employed, including modern seeds, mechanisation, proven husbandry techniques and soil conservation. Land converted from non-organic to organic use takes two to three years before it is free of agrochemicals. Labour costs in organic farming tend to be high, since physical measures for removing weeds are commonly used in preference to pesticides, and production methods involve less intensive use of land. This increases the cost price of such products.

The EU has drawn up standards for the production and labelling of organic foodstuffs in a 1991 Council Regulation (91/2092/EEC), which came into effect at the beginning of 1993.

Organic farming may involve the replacement of chemical fertiliser by (organic) manure, which is often seen as more environmentally friendly; there is little evidence for or against this view, and more research is needed to compare the environmental costs and benefits of both systems. Such research is difficult because it is not easy to find farms where land conditions and factors influencing production are comparable. Experiments (at Rothamsted, UK) have, however, shown that, while farmyard manure can be at least as effective as a chemical fertiliser in improving yields, the potential for nitrate loss from these manures is greater than from inorganic fertilisers because these manures are often applied throughout the autumn or winter as soil conditions permit and when convenient (Addiscott, 1988). Since timely, accurate applications of nitrogen are difficult, substantial leaching of nitrate and heavy metals is likely to result (UK, MAFF, 1992).

So far, research into organic-type farming has given priority to work on soil fertility (especially chemical fertilisers) or on soil erosion. But more research is needed on biological processes, and soil compaction, before firm conclusions can be drawn on the benefits or otherwise of these farming practices.

Source: Partly from Greenpeace, 1992