Global Development of Organic Agriculture

Global Development of Organic Agriculture
Author: Niels Halberg
Publisher: CABI
Total Pages: 391
Release: 2006-01-01
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 1845930789

Agriculture and food systems, including organic agriculture, are undergoing a technological and structural modernization strongly influenced by growing globalization. Organic agricultural movements can be seen as a tangible effort towards more sustainable development. However, there are large differences between, on the one hand, industrialized farming and consumption based on global food chains and, on the other, smallholder farmers and resource poor people primarily linked in local food markets in low-income countries. This book provides an overview of the potential role of organic agriculture in a global perspective. The book discusses in-depth political ecology, ecological justice, ecological economics and free trade with new insights on the challenges for organic agriculture. This is followed by the potential role of organic agriculture for improving soil fertility, nutrient cycling and food security and reducing veterinary medicine use, together with discussions of research needs and the importance of non-certified organic agriculture.

Global Development of Organic Agriculture

Global Development of Organic Agriculture
Author: Niels Halberg
Publisher: CABI
Total Pages: 393
Release: 2006
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 1845930797

Modern agriculture and food systems, including organic agriculture, are undergoing a technological and structural modernisation and are faced with a growing globalisation. Organic agriculture (OA) can be seen as pioneering efforts to create sustainable development based on other principles than mainstream agriculture. There are however large differences between the challenges connected to, on one hand, modern farming and consumption in high-income countries and, on the other, smallholder farmers and resource poor consumers in low-income countries. The point of departure is the increasing globalisation and the production and trade of food and fodder and how this influences the role of OA. This book provides an overview of the potential role and challenges of organic agriculture in this global perspective, as seen from different perspectives such as sustainability, food security and fair trade.

Organic Agriculture

Organic Agriculture
Author: Acram Taji
Publisher: CSIRO PUBLISHING
Total Pages: 480
Release: 2006-06-20
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 0643099395

With global revenue surpassing twenty-five billion dollars annually, organic agriculture is a highly visible and rapidly growing component of agricultural production. In Organic Agriculture: A Global Perspective, Paul Kristiansen, Acram Taji, and John Reganold, and their international group of contributors scientifically review key aspects of organic agriculture. At the intersection of research, education, and practice, the contributors look at the organic agricultural movement’s successes and limitations. The first half of this book critically evaluates the agricultural production of both plants and livestock in organic farming systems. All major aspects of organic agriculture are explored, including historical background and underlying principles, soil-fertility management, crop and animal production, breeding strategies, and crop protection. This global and comprehensive overview also addresses the economic, social, and political aspects of organic farming. These include economics and marketing; standards and certification; environmental impacts and social responsibility; and research, education, and extension. The book is a unique and timely science-based international work documenting current practices in organic agriculture and evaluating their strengths and weaknesses. For more than two decades, research into organic methods by mainstream scientists has generated a large body of information that can now be integrated and used for assessing the actual impacts of organic farming in a wide range of disciplines. The knowledge of selected international experts has been combined in one volume, providing a comprehensive review of organic farming globally. Researchers, teachers, extensionists, students, primary producers and others around the world who are interested in sustainable agriculture will find this book to be a valuable and reliable resource.

Organic Agriculture for Sustainable Livelihoods

Organic Agriculture for Sustainable Livelihoods
Author: Niels Halberg
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 298
Release: 2013
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1849712956

In this volume the potential of organic agriculture (OA) for rural development and the improvement of livelihoods in analysed and assessed in detail. With socio-economic, environmental and agro-ecological perspectives, it includes an overview of the state of research and proposed strategies for harnessing the potential of OA.

The World of Organic Agriculture

The World of Organic Agriculture
Author: Minou Yussefi-Menzler
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 268
Release: 2010-09-23
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 1136535233

The new edition of this annual publication (previously published solely by IFOAM and FiBL) documents recent developments in global organic agriculture. It includes contributions from representatives of the organic sector from throughout the world and provides comprehensive organic farming statistics that cover surface area under organic management, numbers of farms and specific information about commodities and land use in organic systems. The book also contains information on the global market of the burgeoning organic sector, the latest developments in organic certification, standards and regulations, and insights into current status and emerging trends for organic agriculture by continent from the worlds foremost experts. For this edition, all statistical data and regional review chapters have been thoroughly updated. Completely new chapters on organic agriculture in the Pacific, on the International Task Force on Harmonization and Equivalence in Organic Agriculture and on organic aquaculture have been added. Published with IFOAM and FiBL

Advances in Organic Farming

Advances in Organic Farming
Author: Vijay Singh Meena
Publisher: Woodhead Publishing
Total Pages: 272
Release: 2021-08-10
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0128223596

Advances in Organic Farming: Agronomic Soil Management Practices focuses on the integrated interactions between soil-plant-microbe-environment elements in a functioning ecosystem. It explains sustainable nutrient management under organic farming and agriculture, with chapters focusing on the role of nutrient management in sustaining global ecosystems, the remediation of polluted soils, conservation practices, degradation of pollutants, biofertilizers and biopesticides, critical biogeochemical cycles, potential responses for current and impending environmental change, and other critical factors. Organic farming is both challenging and exciting, as its practice of "feeding the soil, not the plant provides opportunity to better understand why some growing methods are preferred over others. In the simplest terms, organic growing is based on maintaining a living soil with a diverse population of micro and macro soil organisms. Organic matter (OM) is maintained in the soil through the addition of compost, animal manure, green manures and the avoidance of excess mechanization. - Presents a comprehensive overview of recent advances and new developments in the field OF research within a relevant theoretical framework - Highlights the scope of the inexpensive and improved management practices - Focuses on the role of nutrient management in sustaining the ecosystems

Tomorrow's Table

Tomorrow's Table
Author: Pamela C. Ronald
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 228
Release: 2008-04-18
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0199756694

By the year 2050, Earth's population will double. If we continue with current farming practices, vast amounts of wilderness will be lost, millions of birds and billions of insects will die, and the public will lose billions of dollars as a consequence of environmental degradation. Clearly, there must be a better way to meet the need for increased food production. Written as part memoir, part instruction, and part contemplation, Tomorrow's Table argues that a judicious blend of two important strands of agriculture--genetic engineering and organic farming--is key to helping feed the world's growing population in an ecologically balanced manner. Pamela Ronald, a geneticist, and her husband, Raoul Adamchak, an organic farmer, take the reader inside their lives for roughly a year, allowing us to look over their shoulders so that we can see what geneticists and organic farmers actually do. The reader sees the problems that farmers face, trying to provide larger yields without resorting to expensive or environmentally hazardous chemicals, a problem that will loom larger and larger as the century progresses. They learn how organic farmers and geneticists address these problems. This book is for consumers, farmers, and policy decision makers who want to make food choices and policy that will support ecologically responsible farming practices. It is also for anyone who wants accurate information about organic farming, genetic engineering, and their potential impacts on human health and the environment.

The Global History of Organic Farming

The Global History of Organic Farming
Author: Gregory A. Barton
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 336
Release: 2018-02-09
Genre: History
ISBN: 0192542605

Organic farming is a major global movement that is changing land-use and consumer habits around the world. This book tells the untold story of how the organic farming movement nearly faltered after an initial flurry of scientific interest and popular support. Drawing on newly-unearthed archives, Barton argues that organic farming first gained popularity in an imperial milieu before shifting to the left of the political spectrum after decolonization and served as a crucial middle stage of environmentalism. Modern organic protocols developed in British India under the guidance of Sir Albert Howard before spreading throughout parts of the British Empire, Europe, and the USA through the advocacy of his many followers and his second wife Louise. Organic farming advocates before and during World War II challenged the industrialization of agriculture and its reliance on chemical fertilizers. They came tantalizingly close to influencing government policy. The decolonization of the British Empire, the success of industrial agriculture, and the purging of holistic ideas from medicine side-lined organic farming advocates who were viewed increasingly as cranks and kooks. Organic farming advocates continued to spread their anti-chemical farming message through a small community that deeply influenced Rachel Carson's ideas in Silent Spring, a book that helped to legitimize anti-chemical concerns. The organic farming movement re-entered the scientific mainstream in the 1980s only with the reluctant backing of government policy. It has continued to grow in popularity ever since and explains why organic farming continues to inspire those who seek to align agriculture and health.

Organic Agriculture, Environment and Food Security

Organic Agriculture, Environment and Food Security
Author: Nadia Scialabba
Publisher: Food & Agriculture Org.
Total Pages: 264
Release: 2002
Genre: Cooking
ISBN: 9789251048191

Organic agriculture is defined as an environmentally and socially sensitive food supply system. This publication considers the contribution of organic agriculture to ecological health, international markets and local food security. It contains a number of case studies of the practical experiences of small farmers throughout the world (including India, Iran, Thailand, Uganda and Brazil) who have adopted fully integrated food systems, and analyses the prospects for a wider adoption of organic agriculture. The book also discusses the weakness of institutional support for nurturing existing knowledge and exchange in organic agriculture.

Cultivating Knowledge

Cultivating Knowledge
Author: Andrew Flachs
Publisher: University of Arizona Press
Total Pages: 241
Release: 2019-11-05
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0816539634

A single seed is more than just the promise of a plant. In rural south India, seeds represent diverging paths toward a sustainable livelihood. Development programs and global agribusiness promote genetically modified seeds and organic certification as a path toward more sustainable cotton production, but these solutions mask a complex web of economic, social, political, and ecological issues that may have consequences as dire as death. In Cultivating Knowledge anthropologist Andrew Flachs shows how rural farmers come to plant genetically modified or certified organic cotton, sometimes during moments of agrarian crisis. Interweaving ethnographic detail, discussions of ecological knowledge, and deep history, Flachs uncovers the unintended consequences of new technologies, which offer great benefits to some—but at others’ expense. Flachs shows that farmers do not make simple cost-benefit analyses when evaluating new technologies and options. Their evaluation of development is a complex and shifting calculation of social meaning, performance, economics, and personal aspiration. Only by understanding this complicated nexus can we begin to understand sustainable agriculture. By comparing the experiences of farmers engaged with these mutually exclusive visions for the future of agriculture, Cultivating Knowledge investigates the human responses to global agrarian change. It illuminates the local impact of global changes: the slow, persistent dangers of pesticides, inequalities in rural life, the aspirations of people who grow fibers sent around the world, the place of ecological knowledge in modern agriculture, and even the complex threat of suicide. It all begins with a seed.