Organic Farmers: Contributing to the Resilience of the Food System? - Re-Thinking Organic Food and Farming in a Changing World - page 191

of introducing alternative practices and providing alternative possibilities to non-
organic farmers, and expand the diversity of an agriculture sector. “Resilience is
the capacity of a system to absorb disturbance and reorganize while undergoing
change so as to still retain essentially the same function, structure, identity and
feedbacks” (Walker et al. 2004 , p. 2). The resilience approach conceptualizes the
world as a complex, constantly evolving, dynamic, adaptive system (Rammel et al.
2007 ; Darnhofer et al. 2010b ).
According to Darnhofer et al. ( 2010a ) the literature indicates that agro-
ecosystems also need to be thought of in this way, and that their adaptability
can be strengthened by farmers “learning through experimenting and monitoring”
(Darnhofer et al. 2010a , p. 549); enhancing both the short and long-term flexibility
by enrolling on-farm and off-farm resources; and increasing the diversity of
activities of those in the farm household, the products produced and the methods
or practices by which they are produced. If the farm system is expanded to include
the supply chain or the farming field, then these qualities can be seen as affecting
farming's resilience in general. A good quality primary product on the farm is only
the first stage in a supply chain that also needs to have the capacity to adapt to
changing circumstances and demands of the market.
The resilience of organic farming has been demonstrated in the ARGOS program
by the findings that the soils of organic kiwifruit orchards are adequately maintained
under organic management and they had several important qualities that were
considered to be better than their non-organic counterparts - a larger microbial
biomass and organic matter content, and improved soil condition (Carey et al. 2009 ).
They were also a source of greater invertebrate biodiversity (Todd et al. 2011 ), which
it is hoped indicates a more resilient provision of ecosystem services. As these
results become more widely known they will influence non- organic orchardists,
and demonstrate that organic growers do not “mine” the soil as is popularly claimed
(Campbell et al. 2009 ).
Organic kiwifruit orchardists provide knowledge that is available to non-organic
growers by developing and experimenting with non-chemical fertilizers, such as
compost teas and seaweed and fish mixes, and growing kiwifruit without the use of
bud break sprays. When chemical fertilizers become too expensive because of rising
oil prices or disadvantageous exchange rates, or a chemical spray is banned because
it is not approved of by consumers, organic orchardists can provide practices which
make the industry as a whole more resilient. In our most recent ARGOS interviews
with dairy farmers it was apparent that many so-called conventional dairy farmers
were starting to use homeopathic treatments acceptable in organic certification
for animal health treatment and prevention of lameness and mastitis (somatic cell
counts) and introducing more variety into their pastures. Organic sheep farmers are
farming without chemical fertilizers, without drenches and trying to breed worm
resistant stock, thus helping conventional farmers in the future who face the risk of
drench resistance.
Mainly we have described examples of how organic practices can influence
conventional practices directly, or indirectly, as in this quote: “I've got no desire
to go organic, um, but I don't believe in using pesticides or things where they