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Assignment:
ORGANIC FARMING SHOULD
BE PROMOTED OR NOT?
Submitted to:
Madam Ayshia
SUBJECT:
ECONOMY OF PAKISTAN
GROUP MEMBERS:
ZAKA ULLAH (Leader)
NASEER AHMAD
RASHID AHMED
FAIZAN AHMED
SHAHID HAMEED
Quaid e Azam College of Commerce UOP
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Organic Farming:
Organic farming is the process of producing
food naturally. This method avoids the use of synthetic chemical fertilizers
and genetically modified organisms to influence the growth of crops. The
main idea behind organic farming is 'zero impact' on the environment. The
motto of the organic farmer is to protect the earth’s resources and produce
safe, healthy food.

Explanation:
Organic farming is a way of farming that avoids the use
of synthetic chemicals and genetically modified organisms (GMOs), and
usually subscribes to the principles of sustainable agriculture. Its theoretical
basis puts an emphasis on soil health. Its proponents believe that healthy
soil, maintained without the use of man-made fertilizers and pesticides, and
livestock raised without drugs, yields higher quality food than conventional,
chemical-based agriculture. In many countries, including the US and in the
European Union, organic farming is also defined by law and regulated by
the government.

Many developed countries, including the United States and those in Europe,
have certification programs to restrict the liberal use of the term "Organic".
This has benefited the consumer by ensuring that quality assurance standards
have been met and that the source is reliable. The definition of organic
varies from place to place but may include things such as a minimum time
period that a field is free of chemical use before being used for organic
farming.

Farmers and gardeners plan to grow their crops without the aid of artificial
fertilizers and harmful chemical pesticides. Organic ranchers and dairymen
raise their livestock free of drugs and animal hormones. Supporters of the
organic lifestyle believe that food produced in this manner is of higher
quality and possesses higher nutritional value in comparison to food
produced by conventional, chemical-based methods.
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Organic farming has re-emerged as the outcome of consumer reaction

against harmful toxins and the desire for more health and environmental
safeguards. This method is a re-implementation of the primitive process
followed by our ancestors before they discovered chemicals that could save
time and improve crop quality, but had the side effect of ruining our air,
water, and soil.

Organic farming and organic food production have some other basic rules:

• no use of chemical fertilizers or synthetic drugs

• no use of genetically modified organisms
• prevention from soil loss and erosion
• Promotion of 'bio diversity' – support a range of crops, not a single
species.

Organic Farming Disadvantages:

• While organic farming generally receives high praise from the media
and environmental experts, there are also some critics who make the
claim that the negative effects of organic farming be more important
than the benefits. Some critics doubt that organic farming can be a
global solution.

• A 2008 survey and study conducted by the UN Environmental

Program concluded that organic methods of farming result in small
yields even in developing areas, compared to conventional farming
techniques.

• The Father of the Modern Green Revolution, Norman Borlaug,

argues that while organic farming practices are capable of catering to
the demands of a very small consumer fraction, the expanding
cropland is dramatically destroying world ecosystems.
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• Research conducted by the Danish Environmental Protection

Agency revealed that organic farms producing potatoes, seed grass
and sugar beet are barely able to produce half of the total output
churned out from conventional farming practices.

• Organic agriculture is hardly able to address or combat global climate

change. Though regenerative organic farming practices are recognized
as effective strategies for reducing CO2 emissions to an extent, the
impact is not dramatic.

• In 1998, increased risk of E. coli infection via consumption of organic

food rather than non-organic food was publicized by Dennis Avery of
the Hudson Institute.

Productivity
One potential drawback to producing organic
foods is that organic farms may have lower productivity than standard farms.
That is, for a given amount of labor, machinery and capital expenditure, an
organic farm will produce less food than a nonorganic farm. There are many
reasons productivity of organic farms are likely to be lower than others.
Firstly, the federal guidelines for organic food states that farmer must
maintain their fields through crop rotation or other means, which may result
in lower overall planting for a given amount of land. Secondly, nonorganic
farmers can use synthetic pesticides and herbicides, which may be cheaper,
easier to apply and more effective than those which organic farmers can use.
Adhering to all the rules of organic farming simply takes a level of time and
care above and beyond nonorganic farming. In addition, organic farmers
cannot use genetically modified organisms that can result in higher crop
yields.
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Transitional Problems that Occur When Organic Farming

When changing from using conventional farming techniques to organic

methods, it can take a while for the soil to adjust to the loss of chemical
nourishment. Soil goes through both biological and chemical changes when
the transition from chemical to organic fertilizer is made, and it can take the
soil quite a while to adjust.

Because of this, plants often go through a few cycles of poor yields before
producing at peak capacity when transitioning from chemical based
fertilizers to organic nutrition.

Cultivation
While their conventional counterparts may sow by direct
drilling of seed into herbicide treated soils, organic farmers are usually at
least partly dependent on cultivation to remove weeds prior to sowing. In
contrast to cultivation, direct drilling does not mechanically disrupt soil
structure and removes the risk of exposed soil being lost to wind or water
erosion.

This is a valid argument where farmers are working marginal quality soils.
However, the structure of agrichemically-deadened soils is weakened by the
corresponding loss of soil life and thus unable to maintain its integrity under
occasional cultivation. So it’s a circular argument!

Structurally sound (life-rich) soils may be cultivated regularly without

significant damage, particularly if protected appropriately by windbreaks
and Key line soil conservation measures.

Even the need to cultivate may be questioned… After noticing rice thriving
wild amongst weeds on roadsides, Japanese alternative agriculturalist
Masanobu Fukuoka succeeded in establishing crops by broadcasting seed
coated in clay onto untilled land.
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Cost
Due to the lower overall productivity of organic farming, the cost to
produce a certain amount of organic food is higher than the cost of
producing the same amount of nonorganic food. These costs of production
are ultimately passed on to buyers are supermarkets and grocery stores.
According to Redbook Magazine, 70 percent of Americans buy organic food
occasionally even though it can cost 50 percent more than nonorganic food.
This shows that many consumers are willing to pay a premium for organic
foods.

Time
Indeed, organic farming requires greater interaction between a
farmer and his crop for observation, timely intervention and weed control for
instance. It is inherently more labor intensive than chemical/mechanical
agriculture so that, naturally a single farmer can produce more crop using
industrial methods than he or she could by solely organic methods.

Skill advantages and disadvantages organic farming

It requires considerably more skill to farm organically. However,
because professional farming of any sort naturally imparts a close and
observant relationship to living things, the best organic farmers are
converted agrichemical farmers.

Organic farmers do not have some convenient chemical fix on the shelf for
every problem they encounter. They have to engage careful observation and
greater understanding in order to know how to tweak their farming system to
correct the cause of the problem rather than simply putting a plaster over its
effect.

This is a bigger issue during the conversion period from conventional to

wholly organic when both the learning curve and transition related problems
are peaking (it takes time to build a healthy farm ecosystem that copes well
without synthetic crutches). Organic farmers I have interviewed report that
their most valuable remedies and advice come from other organic farmers.
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Effects on the Body

Organic foods are generally regarded as healthier

than conventionally produced foods because they lack added growth
hormones and other questionable elements. This does not exclude organic
foods from criticism, though, as many critics attack the methods by which
organic foods are produced and the effect they may have on the body.

For example, organic farms turn to natural fertilizers for growing crops,
which often translates into using animal feces combined with other
components instead of chemically constructed fertilizers. Opponents of
organic farming warn that some foods - such as lettuce, parsley, and other
foods - may harbor harmful bacteria that can be passed on to the consumer.
While foods produced through conventional farming have similar risks,
critics warn that the threat is heightened in organic foods.

Consumers may be less likely to take the same precautions with organic
foods that they do with other types of food. For example, some consumers
may buy organic apples and then assume that there is no need to wash the
apple thoroughly prior to eating it because of its organic origins. This issue,
of course, is not the fault of organic farmers, but it is a cited concern
nonetheless.

What Is

E. coli is a common type of bacteria that can get into food, like beef and vegetables. E.
coli is short for the medical term Escherichia coli. The strange thing about these bacteria
— and lots of other bacteria — is that they're not always harmful to you.

• Critics say one disadvantage organic farming production has is that it

is not as productive as food grown by modern methods. All foods
were grown organically until the past couple of centuries. Modern,
chemically assisted growing methods dramatically increased food
production. Critics say organic farming cannot produce as much food
per acre as newer farming methods.

• Another disadvantages organic food production has is that, although

people assume it is safe, organic food may be contaminated with
toxins? Some critics contend that not all organic soil additives and
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pest controls are non-toxic, and that toxic residues may remain on the
food. This can result in serious consequences for those who eat
organic foods on a regular basis.

• It’s a major disadvantage that most organic food has a shorter shelf
life than non-organic food products. Preservatives are not used on
processing organic food, so it spoils more quickly. This is a
disadvantage for both consumers and stores, as it can be quite costly
in the end.

• One more disadvantages organic food production has is its cost. Less
food is produced per acre, and the food doesn’t keep as well, so it is
more costly to grow and produce organic food. Those added costs are
passed on to the consumer. For that reason, it is a disadvantage of
organic food that poor people cannot afford it.

• Understand that we have to pay more for organic produce because

there are more crop failures due to the fact that the farmers cannot use
pesticides(Insect killer), but what is an acceptable percentage and does
this vary from product to product
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- High labor inputs required
- lower crop yield compared to intensive agricultural systems at
present although some experts say that the yield of organic farming
can meet and exceed these crop yields.

• organic farming will generally not include the use of pesticides,

herbicides, and other compounds that have been shown to be
potentially harmful to the environment

• Critics of organic farming point out that conservative farming

methods yield more product than organic farms, concluding that
organic farming is inefficient. They point out that while organic
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farming may be attractive to consumers who can afford the foods, one
of the negative effects of organic farming is that it may not be able to
feed everyone within the world.

Organic Farming Success

Even though there are a number of problems that occur when organic
farming, the benefits of moving away from using chemical crop nutrition
stand on their own merits. When you're ready to transition to organic
farming techniques, it's important to understand the risks and take steps to
avoid them.

Although organic farming has the both advantages and disadvantage but
there are some principles that can be beneficial to solve the problems of the
organic farming.

7 Core Principals to Organic Farming

1. Soil Organic Matter
Feeds the soil. With organic farming the
higher the organic matter content the better (normally 10 %+). Soil Organic
matter (examples include mulches, composts, green manure crops, crop
stubble & more) helps to retain moisture plus provide a food source for
micro-organism.

2. Soil Organisms
The most important part of organic framing.
There are millions of micro-organisms that live in your soil. The “blood life
of the soil”. They fight disease, prepare & release nutrients for the plants to
take up into there system.

3. Bacteria & Fungi - If you can get the right balance in your soil with
bacteria & fungi you will be a successive in organic farming, with a crop
free of pest & disease.
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4 Organic Fertilizers
In organic farming, fertilizers should have
compost as a base ingredient. Plus have a good mix of minerals, calcium &
micro-organisms to complete the blend. A good food source for organism is
seaweed & fish products as they are very rich in essential elements.

5. Natural Predators
With organic farming, either when starting
out or converting a farm to organic farming practices you must get your
natural predators numbers in check. Chemicals or pesticides kill all living
insects, the bad plus the good. There are many natural predators that will
combat pest if only you give them the chance to build up. When starting out
replace every chemical spray or application with a liquid fertilizer spray. Say
use a seaweed, fish emulsion, neem oil, worm extract mix as a foliage spray.

6. Balance (holistic)
Organic farming is all about getting the right
balance in your soil. A healthy soil leads to healthy crops. Having the right
balance of organisms in your soil can make a world of difference. Some
crops like a fungi rich soil while overs like bacteria dominated soil. Most
crops prefer fungi dominated soil. You can monitor soil health through soil
tests; both nutrients plus the soil activity test are needed. With the right mix
of organisms you can really bring your soil alive. You must learn to know
want you soil is lacking. Then putting back that component to bring the soil
back to balance.

7. Diversification
In main stream farming they farm in a mono
culture (meaning one crop normally on a large scale).in organic farming the
more you diversifies the better. By this I mean growing around 7 different
crops. Rotating your crops around and giving your paddocks a rest helps to
break up pest & disease numbers. Introducing animals into organic farming
helps enormously with the balance of the farm. br /> Organic farming is all
about getting everything into balance. Once this is achieved you can produce
the most wonderful delicious grown fruit, vegetable or animal (meat) that
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you have ever tasted. The buzz that you will get is because you have
produced a product that is chemical & pesticide free. This brings about a real
joy, calmness, sense of completion that only comes with organic farming.

Food that is produce of a organic farm has higher levels in nutrients,

calcium (63% ), iron ( 73%), magnesium(118%), molybdenum(120%),
phosphorus( 91%), potassium(125%) and zinc(60%).organic food averages
29% lower in mercury than the conventionally raised food.
Thus if you were to eat organic grown produce you could cut down the
intake of vitamins that you are currently have to take to keep your body
healthy.

Sources:
Wikipedia
Investopedia
wordIQ.com
Answer.com etc.
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