Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
conversion would be unlikely to cause adjustment problems to the agricultural sector, for
example, as a result of significantly lower yields (Halberg
et
al
. 2005b, see
Chapter
10
).
The report of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (2005) lists several general strategies
for promoting more sustainable land use that are very applicable to organic agriculture. These
strategies include creating appropriate governance and marketing structures, overcoming
social and behavioural constraints, encouraging investment in the development and diffusion
of suitable technologies and fostering a robust knowledge and skills base. Several more specific
policy options were also recommended:
• removal of production subsidies that have adverse economic, social and environmental
effects;
• investment in, and diffusion of, agricultural science and technology that can sustain the
necessary increase of food supply without harmful tradeoffs involving excessive use of
water, nutrients or pesticides;
• use of response polices that recognise the role of women in the production and use of
food and that are designed to empower women and ensure access to and control of
resources necessary for food security; and
• application of a mix of regulatory and incentive-based and market-based mechanisms to
reduce overuse of nutrients (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment 2005).
The importance of recognising the role of women is reinforced by Lockie
et
al
. (see
Chapter
11
) who state that gender, not education or income, is the most important demographic factor
inf luencing patterns of organic consumption, because women report purchasing organic foods
more than men.
There is a diverse range of emerging and existing technologies and conceptual approaches
that are compatible with organic agriculture, and where organic agriculture has existing
strengths, such as adult education and soil microbiology (Figure 18.1). These technologies can
provide the organic movement with opportunities to improve productivity, overcome market-
ing constraints, reduce harmful environmental and social impacts and maintain a progressive,
constructive stance in relation to research, development and education. The following discus-
sion about the ongoing role of the organic movement in agriculture is based on the broad, non-
exclusive topics, supply chains and farming systems, identified in Figure 18.1. These topics
each have several themes listed as examples; however, these lists are not intended to be
exhaustive.
Organic
agriculture
Farming systems
Integrated farm management
Catchment management
Soil and microbiology
Information technology
Supply chains
Auditing and quality assurance
Research networks
Education networks
Rural and regional development
Figure 18.1
Technologies and conceptual approaches relevant to organic agriculture.
