Future Lies in Organic Farming

Future Lies in Organic Farming

By Dr Arvind Kumar

Some scientists have started arguing that organic will be the conventional agriculture of the future, neither because of wishful thinking nor because it is the right thing to do, or because of some universal truth revealed from on high; but because it is the only viable option. The existing farming, albeit the entire agri-food system is so centered on specialization, consolidation, and globalization that in US it reportedly consumes 19% of the national energy budget - but only 7 of the 19% are used on the farm, with the remaining 12% incurred by post-farmgate transport, processing, packaging, distribution, and meal preparation (D. Pimentel, 2006).

According to Dr Ann Clark, the future is organic because the design drivers that have shaped and moulded the current agri-food system are changing, demanding a wholly new, and largely organic, approach to agriculture. Efforts to make the current model less bad - more sustainable - are counterproductive because they dilute and deflect the creative energy and commitment that are urgently needed to craft productive, ecologically sound systems driven by current solar energy. M. Pollan has opined that post-oil design drivers will also necessarily demand not just organics but novel agri-food systems emphasizing local/decentralized food production, and seasonal consumption expectations, from minimally processed foods. Mere organic is not enough; however, ecological soundness will require a de-emphasis on annual cropping coupled with re-integration of livestock, both to mimic the principles that sustain Nature and to dramatically reduce dependence on fossil fuels.