The Basics Of Organic Farming: Why choose this method?
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Organic farming is based on the concept of sustainable development, which is built into the existing ecosystem, does not disturb its harmonious functioning, preserves nature, and provides the world population with quality food. Products of organic agriculture are grown without the use of agrochemicals, pesticides, mineral fertilizers, genetically modified organisms, antibiotics, growth stimulants. These substances are hazardous to human health and threaten the environment. Such products are processed without the use of gasses, synthetic waxes, and chemical additives to improve taste or extend shelf life.
More so, small farms cannot compete with large agricultural holdings in terms of the cost of production due to low funding. In particular, the possibility of purchasing seeds, fuel, machinery, plant protection products, etc. Also, selling products for a small farmer is much more difficult. At the same time, organic agriculture can be a great business option for them, where they can be quite competitive. Let’s get into more detail on what organic farming actually implies, how it works, and what are its strong and weak points.
The Core Organic Farming Practices
The methods used in organic farming include:
Crop rotation: This method implies growing different types of crops in the same place every season to ensure better productivity and soil health.
Biological pest control: Living organisms like beneficial insects, etc. are used for pest control instead of chemicals.
Green fertilization: This refers to dead plants that have been harvested, fermented and incorporated into the soil for further fermentation, which results in an increase in beneficial microorganisms, insects, and nutrients in the soil to improve its quality.
Organic Farming Pros and Cons
One of the biggest advantages of organic farming is that it leads to the production of food of higher nutritional value, which does not contain modified ingredients compared to products obtained by traditional farming methods.
Organic farming methods are regenerative and low cost, so they do not destroy the land and natural resources for future generations. This type of farming does not harm the soil and stops desertification, which contrasts with many traditional farming methods that reduce the value of our planet's natural capital.
The purpose of organic production in which crop rotation and other agronomic measures are used is to preserve fertile soil as the main agricultural value. This involves increasing the biological activity of the soil by applying the right fertilizer and maintaining the structure of the soil, introducing crops with a tap root, then legumes and crops suitable for fertilization. Microorganisms in the soil play an important role in processing and providing nutrients to plants. Soil should be cultivated with "light" means, i.e. no-till method, to prevent the destructive processes of soil microorganisms. Therefore, one of the main tasks for organic producers is to take care of biological activity.
In addition to the richness of the soil, organic farming helps protect the environment. In particular, such a farm does not pollute water, and fertilizers do not release toxic gasses into the air. Also, since organic food is most often sold on the local market, transportation costs, fuel consumption, and the amount of greenhouse gas emissions from machinery are reduced.
However, there are also disadvantages of organic farming. Agronomists note that in practice most organic products are difficult to distinguish from traditional. Rejection of mineral fertilizers and pesticides will lead to a sharp decrease in yields, because there will be more weeds and pests. Weeds can only be removed mechanically, and the increase in mechanical treatments will increase the consumption of fuel and lubricants, and therefore, various emissions will increase. Organic farming requires more manual and physical weed control than other farming methods. This means that organic farming requires more physical labor. It can also increase the overall cost of organic farming in the long run.
The market for organic products can be found, but the farm will need good advertising, as the cost of organic products is higher than conventional. Consumers tend to pay for the product, and this is considered one of the main disadvantages of food produced organically. The higher prices of organic products are justified by the fact that organic growers do not get as much yield as traditional ones.
Monitoring is a very important and important aspect of organic farming management because any mistakes or bad weather conditions can ruin everything, which makes organic farming more time consuming and labor intensive compared to other farming approaches. This means that organic farming requires regular monitoring of the crops being grown. Especially during critical periods for crops so that they can grow well without any pests or weeds threatening them.
All in all, agronomists believe that large agricultural holdings are unlikely to go organic, because it requires a lot of labor, time, and doesn’t provide the required abundant yields. However, for small farms organic farming can be a great choice.
