Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
equipment developed for four-wheel tractors can be suitable for small farmers who
are accustomed to renting-in tillage and establishment services. Such is the case in
most rice-wheat areas of South Asia (Mehla et al., 2000).
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Some CA practices are used in producing “organic food,” increasingly popular with
consumers in developed countries aware of food safety issues. These consumers feel
that organic food is safer, tastier, and better for their health. Typically, however, it is
also more costly to produce and may be less affordable for the poor. Organic food is
produced to meet specific standards; only farms meeting these standards are certi-
fied and allowed to label their produce as organic. Organic crops are grown with-
out the use of conventional pesticides, artificial fertilizers, human waste, or sewage
sludge; without processing with ionizing radiation or food additives; and without the
use of GMOs or transgenic varieties. Many organic farmers use CA practices—no-
till, soil cover, and rotations.
There is still debate regarding whether enough food can be produced organi-
cally to meet future food needs. As pointed out, use of zero till and soil mulch does
improve soil health and promotes better nutrient recycling. But, is this enough to pro-
vide the nutrients needed to produce high yields without chemical fertilizers? Would
more land area per unit of product be required to grow crops organically than farm-
ing with chemical inputs? Proponents of the organic movement say yes, assuming
that sufficient amounts of organic nutrients can be made available to reliably sustain
high crop yields over large areas. Experience in China suggests that successful reli-
ance on organic inputs over large areas is difficult to maintain (Cheng et al., 1992).
Interestingly, plants do not distinguish between nutrients such as nitrogen or phos-
phorus supplied by chemicals or those supplied organically. Nutrients are needed for
plant growth and must be supplied either by the soil or as externally applied inputs,
organic or inorganic.
The use of integrated pest management (IPM) has enabled farmers to produce
crops with less reliance on chemical pesticides, the input that most affects food
safety. In IPM, ecological processes (encouraging natural enemies of crop pests,
reducing pest buildup through rotations, etc.) are used as much as possible to
control pests, diseases, and weeds. IPM allows occasional judicious use of pes-
ticides if all else fails (unlike organic farming, for which pesticides are banned
completely).
A time may come when use of transgenic crops will be seen as a solution to the
problem of crop protection and pest management. The example of the use of Bt cot-
ton in India and China has shown that crops can be grown with little or no pesticide.
Glyphosate-tolerant, transgenic rice would make growing aerobic rice much easier
and would reduce the toxicity of herbicides applied, resulting in better soil health,
less water use, and reduced GHG emissions. The use of new technology in food
production needs to be assessed holistically and against the present systems of agri-
culture, rather than biopolitically.
